Jamie Oleksiak probably won’t have to wait long to make his Penguins debut.
Oleksiak, acquired in a trade from Dallas on Tuesday, was skating in the team’s top six on the blue line at practice Wednesday morning. Ian Cole was the odd man out and appears poised to return to being a healthy scratch when the Penguins play host to Columbus on Thursday.
“We’ve got a competitive roster. We’ve got a lot of good players and so they’re very difficult decisions. We don’t take them lightly,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Ultimately, we’re trying to put the best lineup on the ice that we think gives us the best chance to win.”
That appears to not include Cole for the time being. He had previously been a healthy scratch for three games in late November and appeared to be on the verge of being traded. With the NHL’s holiday roster freeze in effect, he won’t be moved until at least Dec. 28, but the addition of Oleksiak could give the Penguins the defensive insurance they need to trade Cole.
As far as Cole’s place in the Penguins’ current lineup, his 10 penalty minutes on the team’s recent three-game road trip probably didn’t help his case, and Oleksiak’s ability to play the right side, despite being left-handed, makes him a better fit next to Matt Hunwick on the Penguins’ third pairing.
#Pens lines and D pairs at practice:
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) December 20, 2017
Guentzel-Crosby-Simon
Hagelin-Malkin-Hornqvist
Sheary-Sheahan-Rust
Kuhnhackl-Rowney-Reaves
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Ruhwedel
Hunwick-Oleksiak
(Cole-Gonchar)
“He’s very comfortable playing the right side and that’s something that we’ve struggled with this year,” Sullivan said. “He’s a guy that has a comfort level there. These are all things that he brings to the table, that we think could make us a better team.”
Oleksiak’s 6-foot-7 frame also brings an element of size to the Penguins, something Sidney Crosby said can be very difficult to play against.
“They cover so much ice, guys that size,” Crosby said. “With his reach, sometimes you feel like you have him beat and he’s able to get a stick on the puck or get a block in. A guy who’s that big and can move the way he does is pretty rare. He’s a good skater, too, for his size and he’s a strong guy, so he’s a guy you want to watch out for.”
Kessel out for maintenance
Phil Kessel was the lone Penguin to not participate in the team’s practice Wednesday, but Sullivan said his absence was just a “maintenance day.”
Kessel has played in 645 consecutive regular season games, so it would theoretically take a lot for him to actually miss one.
“He’s been able to do it for a long time, and he always finds a way to make sure he’s in the lineup,” Crosby said. “He’s kind of been in the situation before where he doesn’t practice the day before a game and he finds a way to play. It’s something he’s been doing for a long time. You don’t want to take it for granted, but you expect that he’ll find a way to do it again tomorrow.”
Crosby on Kessel’s Ironman streak (716 gms incl playoffs): "I don’t know what the streak is and I don’t like talking about the streaks like that, to be honest with you."
— Sam Werner (@SWernerPG) December 20, 2017
Hornqvist back in practice
Patric Hornqvist was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and appears poised to return to the lineup Thursday night.
Hornqvist was sent back to Pittsburgh from the team’s road trip and missed Monday’s game in Colorado with an upper-body injury.
Sullivan declined to explicitly say Hornqvist will be back against the Blue Jackets, but barring it setback, it seems like he’s ready to go.
“He’ll be a game-time decision, but certainly the way he looked out there today, we thought he looked really strong,” Sullivan said. “He felt strong, we’ll see how he reacts to this practice. But right now his status is he’ll be a game-time decision.”
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: December 20, 2017, 8:05 p.m.
