PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens held an optional workout Monday as they await their opponent and the schedule for their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Four with injury questions out of their normal lineup participated full. Evgeni Malkin, who worried he tweaked his knee injury Saturday against the Sabres had no ill effects as the team when through high-intensity drills.
Forward Brandon Tanev continues to work back from his upper body injury suffered April 3 that’s kept him out the last 18 games. Like Malkin, Tanev went full with no apparent issues.
Defenseman Mike Matheson returned to practice with the team coming back after taking a puck off his face Saturday, May 1. Matheson was wearing a full-face shield, but seemed no different during drills.
It was a Matheson shot that went off forward Evan Rodrigues ankle on April 29, Rodrigues also practiced full Monday after missing every game since.
Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said they will use the practice time this week to their benefit and hold a couple of scrimmages to keep them fresh.
Jelling
Pens defenseman Brian Dumoulin has been on a couple of Stanley Cup winning teams and also a part of the last few years with a scant playoff victory. Dumoulin believes team unity plays a big factor in playoff success.
“You can feel a little bit when the group is going, when you are playing well before the playoffs,” Dumoulin said. “The biggest thing from years past from when we won in the past, the team jelled together. We went through adversity throughout the season. How we responded from that. If we were cooking. If the group was tight. If we had a close group. There are all kinds of feels to a team.”
“I think teams come together, some of it you can control, some of it you can’t,” said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan. “I always believe it starts with good people. We believe we have that in our locker room. They are high-quality people. I think they sincerely like one another. They care about each other. They play hard for one another.”
“I think some of the adversities that we faced throughout the course of the year helps galvanize the group. We’ve certainly had a lot to rally around this year whether it be through injuries or things of that nature. Guys stepped up.”
Dumoulin says they’ve had a solid approach of living in the moment and not getting caught up in playoff scenarios or lofty goals.
“That’s what we focused on this year is we really control what we could,” Dumoulin said. “Focus on the next game and try to not get too ahead of ourselves thinking about the future and the possibilities of what we can be as a group. That’s one of the things we’ve benefitted from this year was just come together as a group. Be there for each other, stick up for each other and creating a little bond even through the tough times we had.”
“The best thing about our game is the journey along the way,” Sullivan said. “It’s the most rewarding to help this group of players maximize their potential. We are certainly not satisfied with where we are at. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us. We know how difficult the challenge is ahead of us. We are going to do everything in our power to have success.”