PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Evgeni Malkin's injury from Tuesday's game is still be evaluated. We know Malkin will be out vs. the Devils on Thursday as Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said he hopes to have more information in the next day or so.
Defenseman John Marino worked on a pairing with Marcus Pettersson, a good sign he could return. Jared McCann and defenseman Mark Friedman practiced. Neither will play tonight.
"I think we got to carry the momentum we had this past couple of weeks we've been playing well here," said forward Kasperi Kapanen of playing without Malkin. "Obviously, Geno was a huge part of that. He's been playing really well. He's feeling himself. We are going to miss him out there. We are ready for the challenge. We got a good group. We have a lot of young guys who want to step up and play well."
"Big loss," Marino said of Malkin. "He's obviously a great player. We have the mentality of the next man up. We are just going to need some guys to step up and everyone come together."
Line combinations at morning practice
Jake Guetnzel – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Brandon Tanev – Evan Rodrigues – Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese- Mark Jankowski – Sam Lafferty
Colton Sceviour – Frederick Gaudreau – Anthony Angello
So the Pens are moving Tanev to a line with Kapanen and Rodrigues.
"He's got a great motor," Sullivan said of Tanev. "He creates a lot through his energy and physical play. His puck pursuit game. Usually his linemates are the benefactors of that. He's an ultra-competitive guy."
The other two on the second line are competitive as well. In fact Kapanen and Rodrigues fought each other a few years ago.
"I don't think we liked each other too much in the beginning to be honest," Kapanen said. "It's something that now you are on the same team. I think me and E-Rod have some good chemistry, which is kind of ironic. Looking forward to tonight."
First meeting with New Jersey
While the Devils are only above Buffalo in the MassMutual Division, they have played a series of one-goal games with the Islanders, Bruins and Caps recently. Pavel Zacha leads New Jersey in points with 17, while Miles Wood leads in goals with 9. Eleven Devils players are in double-digit points for the season.
"They are a young group," Kapanen said. "They are a hungry group. They play hard. It's going to be a big challenge for us. First game against them, we are going to see what they are all about. It's going to be a dogfight tonight."
"We know they are a young team," Marino said. "They are fast. They have some dangerous guys on the ice. They are definitely a team you have to be careful about."
