NEWARK, N.J. — Mike Sullivan has said, since the trade deadline, that he likes his team’s depth at the center position.
It’s about to be put to the test.
Derick Brassard will miss the Penguins’ game against the Devils Thursday night because of a lower-body injury he sustained in the team’s 5-2 loss to Detroit Tuesday. Sullivan did not offer any further prognosis for Brassard, only saying he would be further evaluated when the team returns to Pittsburgh and was currently “day-to-day.”
In his absence, Riley Sheahan will slide back into his old role at third-line center.
“Riley's been a very versatile player for us since we got him,” Sullivan said. “We can play him in so many different situations. He's played extremely well for us this year.”
The Penguins also called up Josh Jooris from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to fill in as the fourth-liner center. Jooris played in four games for the Penguins earlier this month. He did not record a point but looked comfortable playing on the fourth line.
“Coming to a new team, it takes some time,” Jooris said. “But I felt I played pretty well. I played pretty simple and I thought the games we had, we did our job as a line, so it was good.”
Sullivan said situations like this one are why Jim Rutherford went out and acquired Jooris from Carolina at the trade deadline last month.
“We felt like we needed more depth at the center ice position,” Sullivan said. “He’s a guy that has experience in the league, he can really skate, he can kill penalties. We thought he could fit into the depth of our organization, which is important for us.”
Jooris won’t have much time to get back up to speed, as the Penguins’ game against the Devils Thursday carries some pretty significant playoff implications.
“It’s big,” he said. “You look at the standings, the teams that are all in the mix here in the Metro just keep putting up points. It’s big. We know where we’re at and for me personally, I’ve just got to kind of rely on experience here. I’ve played in big games before. Just try and stick to that mindset as much as I can.”
Hunwick poised to return
Matt Hunwick came off the ice from the Penguins’ morning skate Thursday well before Chad Ruhwedel, a likely indication that Hunwick will take Ruhwedel’s spot in the Penguins’ lineup against the Devils.
Hunwick has been a healthy scratch since March 1. In his last three games before that, he had a goal and an assist, but had a minus-5 plus/minus. On the season, Hunwick has four goals, five assists and is a minus-6 in 39 games.
“We’d like to get Matt in,” Sullivan said. “He’s certainly a guy that we know can help us win. He’s a good player, he’s a real mobile defenseman, he defends pretty well and so he’s one of the group of defensemen that we’re going to rely on. Regardless of who’s in our lineup, these guys are guys we think we can win with.”
Given the nature of the NHL playoffs, it seems unlikely the Penguins would make it all the way though without a defenseman missing a game at some point. Therefore, it makes sense to get Hunwick some work before the postseason begins, even if he ends up being their seventh defenseman. He also could bolster a struggling penalty kill, as he has averaged 2 minutes, 9 seconds of shorthanded time in the games he has played this season.
Bouncing back strong
After their disappointing 5-2 loss to the Red Wings Tuesday, Sullivan kept it simple when asked what he was looking for against the Devils.
“I just want us to go out and compete,” he said. “I know that when we go out and compete and we’re locked in as far as our focus, our attention to detail, staying in the moment, controlling what we can, then we can compete against anybody in this league.”
That loss, combined with the Penguins’ overall inconsistent play recently, could serve as a wakeup call that, for as good a position as they’re in, they have not clinched a playoff spot yet.
“It’s a reminder that you can’t just show up and expect to get two points,” Sidney Crosby said. “I don’t think we necessarily needed that at Game 77 or whatever it was, but we’ve got to learn from it. It’s in the past now, so we’ve got important games ahead here.”
That starts Thursday night against the Devils, who the Penguins are 0-2-1 against this season.
“We know what we have to do to get better,” Patric Hornqvist said. “[Thursday is] going to be a big game for us and we always come up big when the stakes are high and playing good teams. I'm not worried about [Thursday] at all.”
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: March 29, 2018, 5:38 p.m.
