PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – You expect the two new forwards to play, now the Pens will also likely shake up one of their defensive pairings to allow the new guy to play.
Pens head coach Mike Sullivan said he 'would anticipate' Dmitry Kulikov playing against the Blue Jackets Tuesday night. Judging by practice on Monday, Kulikov will replace 23-year-old PO Joseph and paired with Jan Rutta.
"Just his reliability," Sullivan said of what they like about Kulikov's game. "He's a real trustworthy defenseman. He's good on the penalty kill. In Anaheim, he played against a lot of team's top players, all year long. His size and his strength will help us. He brings a defensive conscientious, some solid penalty killing ability and makes us harder to play against back there."
"I try to play an honest game, work hard and try to play the game the right way," Kulikov said Monday. "I don't cheat and make plays when they are there. Make simple plays and play hard on defense."
He said he's not sure what his role going forward will be, but knows he was brought here for a reason. He'll get an opportunity right away to prove it. So after finding out driving home from practice with the Ducks on Friday he's coming to Pittsburgh, Tuesday he will attempt to impact for the Pens playoff push.
Comparisons between the pair of left-shot defensemen who were 1st round picks:
· Dmitry Kulikov-6'1", 201 pounds, 32 years-old-61 games, 3 goals, 12 assists, -11, 30 penalty minutes
· PO Joseph-6'2", 185 pounds, 23 years-old, 58 games, 4 goals, 13 assists, +11, 38 penalty minutes
Guentzel missing
The Pens forward, who has 24 goals and 30 assists in 58 games, missed practice on Monday. Sullivan said Jake Guentzel will play on Tuesday, saying it was just a maintenance day.
Lines Monday
With Guentzel out, Danton Heinen moved up to the top line.
Ryan Poehling wore a non-contact jersey:
Heinen-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Drew O'Connor-Mikael Granlund-Jeff Carter
Nick Bonino-Poehling-Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Jeff Petry
Dmitry Kulikov-Jan Rutta
