Both Jeff Petry and Marcus Pettersson missed practice on Wednesday, and it looked like the Penguins might be in a bit of a tough spot Thursday night against the Oilers with only four healthy defensemen available on the NHL roster.
No need to fear, as Petry, who was sick, and Pettersson, who welcomed the birth of a baby boy with his wife, both took the ice for the Penguins' optional morning skate here at PPG Paints Arena Thursday.
They are expected to suit up and play in the evening.
Mike Sullivan was asked if he gave any pointers to Pettersson on becoming a father.
"I did not," Sullivan said with a giant smirk, "other than say, 'Congratulations, your life has changed forever.' And I mean that in a sincerely positive way."
Petry and Pettersson have formed what's been the team's best and most consistent defense pairing all season, as the Penguins have taken 55.3% of the shot attempts and controlled 56.9% of the expected goals with the two of them on the ice together at 5-on-5.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Including Petry and Pettersson, there were only eight players who took the option to participate in Thursday's morning skate: Jan Rutta, Chad Ruhwedel, Mark Friedman, Danton Heinen, Drew O'Connor, Casey DeSmith
• Rutta came out after the start of the skate to work with Ty Hennes before joining the rest of the group for drills. He remains on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He's been practicing with the group for some time now and probably isn't much further out from a return. To be activated, the Penguins will have to re-assign O'Connor and Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in AHL. O'Connor is exempt from waivers, Friedman is not.
• No change in status for any of Ryan Poehling (nagging upper-body injury), Rutta or Friedman (upper-body injury), per Sullivan.
• Tristan Jarry will start in goal for the Penguins, Sullivan confirmed. He made 28 saves on 31 shots in his return from injury Monday against the Islanders. On the season, he's 16-6-5 with a .920 save percentage, 2.67 goals against average and 9.5 goals saved above expected based on the quality of chances he's faced.
• Based on Wednesday's practice, here's how the Penguins are expected to line up against the Oilers:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Drew O'Connor - Teddy Blueger - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
• Stuart Skinner is expected to start in goal for the Oilers. He's 14-11-4 this season with a .913 save percentage, 2.92 goals against average and 11.7 goals saved above expected.
• Oilers' lines and pairings from their morning skate:
Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Derek Ryan
Zach Hyman - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Kailer Yamamoto
Warren Foegele - Ryan McLeod - Jesse Puljujarvi
Klim Kostin - Devin Shore - Mattias Janmark
Darnell Nurse - Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak - Tyson Barrie
Philip Broberg - Evan Bouchard
• Over their last 10 games, the Oilers have four victories, but only one of their six losses came during regulation.
• Puck drops against the Oilers at 7:08 p.m. tonight here at PPG Paints Arena. I'll be there with Dejan Kovacevic for your coverage.
