It appears the Penguins will rock some new-look forward lines when they host the Ducks Monday night, 7:08 p.m., here at PPG Paints Arena.
While the top six, with Bryan Rust on the first line and Rickard Rakell on the second line, remained unchanged during the Penguins' morning skate Monday, the bottom six looked considerably different.
Take a look at their workflow during line rushes:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor - Teddy Blueger - Jeff Carter
Brock McGinn - Jonathan Gruden - Kasperi Kapanen
Gruden, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL on Sunday, is primed to make his NHL debut while centering the Penguins' fourth line between McGinn and Kapanen. The 22-year-old has 11 goals and five assists in 32 AHL games this season, but has been on a bit of a tear lately, scoring five of those goals and an assist over his last three games. Gruden credits his recent success to work ethic, moving his feet and playing his game. When he's doing that, "the rest of that will just happen."
Aside from Gruden's hot stretch, part of the reason for his recall is that his playing style has the potential to translate well in the type of role Mike Sullivan asks of his bottom six. He's looking to finish his checks and be an energy guy for the Penguins.
"Gruds has played really well," Sullivan said. "He's a real solid two-way player, very good penalty-killer, real solid defensive center-iceman, and plays the game with an edge. He's a real competitive guy, he's played extremely well for Wilkes, he's scored some goals. What we would expect is that very same game that he would bring to our team."
Gruden's presence down the middle has afforded the Penguins the opportunity to slide Blueger up to center on the third line, which also spells a shift to the right wing for Carter.
"Anytime you have two center-icemen on a line, there's a huge advantage in the faceoff circle knowing you can be more aggressive," Sullivan said. "If you get kicked out, you have another guy that can step in and take the draw. It's nice that Teddy's a left-handed shot, Carts is a right-handed shot. Teddy can take them on his backhand and Carts can take them on his backhand. There's a number of advantages, but these guys are both solid players. Carts has played a fair amount on the wing, so I think it's an easy transition for him. Obviously we're trying to put combinations together that we think we can gain some traction."
It will be an interesting test for Blueger, especially, who has just one goal in 27 games this season. He knows the bottom six needs to bring more to the table offensively, and he thinks a good start would be to hang onto pucks a bit more to make plays while cutting back on relinquishing possession so easily.
"You try not to discouraged," Blueger said. "Just find a way to get it done."
Although the Penguins' top six hasn't been at their best over the past couple weeks, there's no denying it's one of the best in the NHL when they're firing on all cylinders. The problem has been getting a consistent impact from the bottom six. This shakeup might be just what the doctor ordered for that to happen.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• After missing the previous two games due to illness, Marcus Pettersson took part in the morning skate Monday. He skated on the second defense pairing with Jan Rutta and is expected to return to the lineup.
• The good news for the Penguins' blue line doesn't stop at Pettersson's return to the ice: Jeff Petry re-joined the team for the first time since suffering an injury to his wrist/arm on Dec. 10 that landed him on long-term injured reserve. He was out there in a white non-contact jersey.
"It's good," Petry said of re-joining the team. "The time away is never fun. Nobody wants to deal with that. Being able to go out in the morning skate this morning was a step in the right direction and it's an exciting day for me."
Petry went on to add that he's feeling good physically and that every day seems to be getting a bit better. Sullivan is hopeful that Petry's return "will be timely."
• Kris Letang is expected to re-join the team in the next day or so, according to Sullivan. Letang has not played since Dec. 28 after suffering a lower-body injury, followed by the passing of his father. After his father passed, Letang left the team to spend some time with his family in Montreal. It's unclear whether or not Letang's injury will be a factor in the timeline of his return to game action.
• Here are the defense pairings utilized during morning skate:
Brian Dumoulin - Ty Smith
Marcus Pettersson - Jan Rutta
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
Mark Friedman - Jeff Petry
• Ryan Poehling (upper-body injury, injured reserve) also re-joined the team for the morning skate. Like Petry, he was out there in a white non-contact jersey.
• Casey DeSmith will start in goal Monday night. He is 5-9-2 this season with a .907 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average. DeSmith has gotten the win in just one of his last six starts.
• John Gibson was the first goalie off the ice during the Ducks' morning skate and is expected to start. It's been a rough season for the Pittsburgh native, as he's 7-19-3 this season while posting career-worsts in save percentage (.894) and goals against average (4.14).
• Monday night will mark the first time Rakell plays against his former team since being acquired by the Penguins at last season's trade deadline. Before the Penguins' morning skate began, Rakell said hello to a few old friends at the Ducks bench. He's focused on getting the win Monday night, but don't expect any trash-talking from him.
"That's not really part of game, not really part of my strengths," Rakell said with a laugh. "Not a lot of trash-talk from my side."
Rakell doesn't feel a whole lot different as a player now compared to when he was with the Ducks, noting that he just wants to continue getting better.
"I like scoring goals. I'm trying to do that," he said.
• Tristan Jarry and Josh Archibald skated with Petry, Ty Hennes and Andy Chiodo prior to the morning skate. Sullivan said Jarry's rehab is progressing closer to game situations.
• Puck drops against the Ducks at 7:08 p.m. Monday night. Taylor Haase and I will be there for your coverage.
