The Penguins – who have put up with all too many injuries the first 3 weeks - avoided what could have been a major setback at Wednesday's practice
No sooner had defenseman Marcus Pettersson joined his teammates at practice, albeit in a non-contact capacity, Evgeni Malkin left the ice early and never returned which is usually a bad sign.
But, following the 45-minute workout, Mike Sullivan said it was nothing major. "Geno had an irritation in his eye that was bothering him," the coach explained, "so we took off the ice just out of caution."
Speaking of sore eyes (or eyesores), the Pens again spent quite a bit of time on the power play as they held their first practice since the installation of the new regime – GM Ron Hextall and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke.
Sullivan has worked with Burke through USA Hockey but has never had a working relationship with Hextall. Still, he remembers playing against the fiery Hextall.
"He was ultra-competitive and he wanted to win," Sullivan says, "and I'm sure that competitive spirit is what he'll bring to the management team as well. I really look forward to the opportunity to get to know Ron and work with both him and Burkie and help this team have success."
This also puts Sullivan is in a different position, maybe without as much job security, since he was not hired by his new bosses. But, in typical straightforward fashion, Sullivan is unfazed.
"These guys are really smart guys," Sullivan adds, "they've been around the game a long time. They've got a ton of experience on management teams, supporting teams to make them better. I don't look at it as a challenge, it's just more of an opportunity."
This is all new to Sidney Crosby but, since Sid has more job security than any Penguin not named Lemieux, he doesn't have to worry about his future in Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, the captain doesn't expect the changes to have that much of an effect on others in the locker room, either.
"There's so much going on just from an injury standpoint, games being shifted and moved," Sid says, "we've had a lot to focus on so our mindset and mentality has just been on playing games and making sure we're getting better."
Back to injuries, Sullivan is encouraged by Pettersson's progress and that they'll take each day as it comes. He says Jared McCann is week-to-week with his lower body injury.
After Thursday's road game against the Islanders, the team is off again until Sunday's matinee against the Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena.
