Everyone in the city of Pittsburgh can breathe a small sigh of relief.
After learning on Wednesday that Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was being evaluated for an upper-body injury sustained during the third period of the Penguins’ 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Crosby skated before and during practice on Thursday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa.
Although Crosby did not end up practicing with the team on the main ice after taking some deflection and shooting drills there initially, he did skate on the alternate ice once practice started, getting some additional reps:
“He skated on his own today,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “That was pre-planned. He’s continuing to be evaluated. We’ll probably have more information on status [Friday].”
With second-line center Evgeni Malkin still on injured reserve with a lower-body injury – Malkin also skated on his own this morning – there’s a possibility that the Penguins could be severely limited going into a crucial weekend back-to-back against the division-rival New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
And they began to prepare accordingly at Thursday’s practice.
For the first time since being a member of the Anaheim Ducks, forward Rickard Rakell – recently named to Team Sweden for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off – practiced as the team’s first-line center. Rakell centered Bryan Rust and Anthony Beauvillier, while Cody Glass and Kevin Hayes manned the middle on the next two lines down.
Here were the full lines and pairings at practice without Crosby and Malkin:
#LetsGoPens line rushes without 87:
Beauvillier-Rakell-Rust
Bunting-Glass-Heinen
Nieto-Hayes-Tomasino
Imama-Lizotte-AcciariJoseph-Letang
Grzelcyk-Karlsson
Graves-Desharnais
(Shea) https://t.co/gR5gKlXrxd— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) February 6, 2025
During Tuesday’s game, Kevin Hayes filled in as first-line center in Crosby’s brief absence, scoring a goal in the process. However, the Penguins would have been very limited at the center position by keeping Hayes there and Rakell on the wing.
Even though it’s a position Rakell has not played in quite some time, it’s something he’s looking forward to if given the opportunity.
“I grew up playing center, and my first, I want to say, couple years in the NHL I played center,” Rakell said. “Yeah, it was a while ago, but I don’t mind it. I think it’s a lot of fun.”
Rakell also kept it lighthearted, cracking a little joke when asked if it’s going to be a challenge for him to adjust to the position if needed.
“I think I have one way of playing center, and Sid has one way of playing center… and he’s the best at it,” Rakell smiled. “But, just going to try to play my game and not make it too complicated.
“It’s not going to be easy losing our top-two forwards. But, it’s an opportunity for us other guys to just take that opportunity and do the best we can with it.”
The team optioned forward Jesse Puljujarvi to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) – Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate – on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen whether or not they will call up another center to help fill out the roster’s depth.
In other news, the team left for New York after Thursday’s practice, and they also embarked on their annual Dads Trip.
“I always look forward to this experience,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s so great that a lot of teams around the league do it, and I think it’s so great that our ownership gives us the resources to do it with the dads.
“When you look at the people we have in this locker room, they’re not the people they are by accident, and none of us get here alone. It takes a whole lot of support. I think the dads are at the center of that, as well as their moms.”
The dads will travel with the team all weekend in New York and Philadelphia to take in both games before the 4 Nations break.
