The Pittsburgh Penguins held a practice on Friday afternoon before flying to New York for Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers.
The Penguins are coming off a 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night and will be in second place in the Metropolitan Division heading into that game.
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All healthy players were present for practice, except defenseman Sam Girard, who made his Penguins’ debut on Thursday. He skated on the second pair with Kris Letang.
Girard was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, along with a 2028 second-round pick, for fellow defenseman Brett Kulak.
Here’s how the lines looked when the team did line rushes:
Forwards
Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin
A. Hayes-Rakell-Rust
Mantha-Kindel-Brazeau
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Shea-Letang
K. Hayes-Clifton
Kevin Hayes was filling in for Girard, while Ryan Graves and Ilya Solovyov were skating on the fourth defensive pair. Penguins PR confirmed during practice that Girard wasn’t on the ice because he was being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse confirmed after practice that Girard will travel to New York for Saturday’s game, so he hasn’t been ruled out. Girard blocked multiple shots during Thursday’s game, so hopefully it’s nothing too serious.
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– The Penguins ended Friday’s practice with a shootout, which is never a bad idea. The Penguins are 1-7 in shootouts this season and need all the practice they can get in them. There were some nice goals scored on both Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs.
– This is a big weekend for the Penguins as they try to stay in second place in the Metropolitan Division heading into next week. They’ll face a Rangers team on Saturday that has already waved the white flag on the season and is the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have won two of the three previous meetings against them this year.
After that game, the Penguins will come home to play the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time this season. This will be a big test for the Penguins, since the Golden Knights are first in the Pacific Division and a top Stanley Cup contender this season.
Both games will be nationally televised. Saturday’s game will start at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and Sunday’s will start at 1 p.m. ET on TNT.
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