P.O Joseph has been out of the lineup as a healthy scratch in each of the Penguins' last three games, but he's primed to return to the lineup against his childhood team when the Penguins host the Canadiens here at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday night.
Left-handed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov supplanted Joseph from the lineup after being acquired from the Ducks at the trade deadline, but he left Sunday's game against the Rangers after blocking a shot. Mike Sullivan announced he will be out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, paving the way for Joseph's return.
"I mean, we're winning, so I really don't care about anything else," Joseph said of what it's been like for him to be out of the lineup. "I just want to compete hard whenever I'm on the ice, practicing, working hard in the gym and keeping a good attitude around the guys."
It shouldn't come as a surprise, but he wholeheartedly means what he said. Following Sunday's win over the Rangers, he had a giant smile plastered on his face outside the locker room despite not playing.
Joseph has done a tremendous job of driving quality offense from the back end this season. He's made quite the impact in the Penguins' transition game, and has become increasingly more comfortable getting involved in the offensive zone.
That said, he has shown some warts defensively. He alluded to that being something the coaches asked him to work on while out of the lineup.
"Everything," Joseph said. "First of all, how I can eat more. I think it starts in the gym, how I can try to get stronger in the gym and help the team whenever I have a chance to come back. I think it was just to stay ready for whenever the opportunity was coming, and the opportunity's here right now. I just want to come in and help the team."
"I think P.O's handled it extremely well," Sullivan said. "He's a good pro, he's a great person. I don't think he was happy with it, and most players aren't. These guys are competitive guys, they want to be in the lineup, and that's just the reality of the world that we all live in in pro sports. But he handled it extremely well. ... He controls what he can, he works hard in practice, he keeps himself ready, and that's what our expectation is. The way he carried himself was admirable."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• The Penguins had the day off Monday, so Tuesday's morning skate was mandatory. The only absences were Nick Bonino (lacerated kidney) and Kulikov.
• Tristan Jarry was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate and will start in goal against the Canadiens. He stopped 27 of 29 shots against the Rangers Sunday following three consecutive starts with a save percentage at or below .871. On the season, he's 20-7-6 with a .913 save percentage, 2.86 goals against average and 3.7 goals saved above expected based on the quality of chances he's faced, per Evolving-Hockey.
• The Canadiens did not hold a morning skate because they will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Jake Allen started in goal for them Monday, but was pulled after allowing six goals on 15 shots against the Avalanche. Sam Montembeault came on in relief and allowed two goals on 18 shots.
• Ryan Poehling (upper-body injury, long-term injured reserve) once again skated with the team as a full participant Tuesday morning, but did not skate on a line during rushes and won't play agains the Canadiens. Sullivan said he is getting closer to a return.
• Here's how the Penguins lined up during the skate:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Alex Nylander
Drew O'Connor - Mikael Granlund - Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen - Jeff Carter - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Jan Rutta
• The power-play units remained unchanged.
PP1: Crosby, Guentzel, Rakell, Malkin, Letang
PP2: Carter, Zucker, Rust, Granlund, Petry
• The Pettersson-Letang pairing is absolutely rolling right now. I dove into their recent success, in addition to 10 quick-hitter bullets, in this column from Monday night.
• Puck drops against the Canadiens at 7:08 p.m. Tuesday night. I'm riding solo for your coverage.
