Sidney Crosby was a surprise scratch Saturday for the Penguins’ final preseason game.
He wasn’t all that was missing.
Any real sense of urgency was a no-show, too, as most of the Penguins could have passed through a mettle detector without any concern about setting it off a 5-3 loss to Columbus at PPG Paints Arena.
It was the second preseason game in a row in which the Penguins gave up five goals at home, and didn’t look good doing it.
That, coach Mike Sullivan suggested, is strictly a matter of attitude.
“For me, it’s important, as a group, that we enter games with the right mindset,” he said. “Because I think that gives you the best chance to play your best, and play the type of game that I think this team, to find itself, has to play.
“If we don’t bring the necessary mindset before the puck drops, it’s hard to get to your game. You can’t just turn the switch on and off. It doesn’t work that way.”
The Penguins open the regular season Thursday against Washington, and ratcheting up their compete level by then will be a priority.
“You just don’t want bad habits to sit around and not be talked about,” left winger Chris Kunitz said.
Playing without Crosby is another habit the Penguins don’t want to get into, and something about which they apparently need not worry.
Sullivan said Crosby sat out the Blue Jackets game because of an unspecified illness.
“He came to the rink this morning and wasn’t feeling well,” Sullivan said. “We felt as though he’s played a lot of hockey at this point, through the World Cup, and we’re still in the exhibition season, so we chose to hold him out.”
There is, he added, “no reason to believe that Sid’s going to be long term.”
While Sullivan’s concerns about his team’s mindset are understandable — worrying is something most coaches do very well — precedent suggests that likely will be a short-term issue, as well.
The Penguins do, after all, have virtually the same roster that won the Stanley Cup in June, and that was a group that thrived when challenged.
“All year last year, we were resilient,” defenseman Trevor Daley said. “We found ways to get the job done. As long as we have the same attitude, we’re going to find ways.”
The Penguins’ overall performance gave Sullivan and his staff plenty over which to fret in the next few days, but there were some encouraging efforts.
The most conspicuous came from right winger Scott Wilson, who had a goal and two assists and gave Sullivan little reason to consider yanking him from Evgeni Malkin’s line.
“That was one of Scott’s better games,” Sullivan said. “When he’s playing the game the way I think he’s at his best, he’s a north-south guy.
“He’s on the puck. He’s physical, when he has an opportunity. He’s hard in the corners and goes to the net.”
Wilson appears to have secured a spot on the 23 man major-league roster. Management must decide who will join him there by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Center Kevin Porter and defenseman David Warsofsky cleared waivers Saturday, leaving 27 players on the NHL roster. Five — forwards Bryan Rust, Teddy Blueger and Thomas Di Pauli, defenseman Lukas Bengtsson and goalie Matt Murray — are injured or ill.
Whoever reports for work over the next few days can expect Sullivan to deliver a crash course in competing.
“This is an important week for our team,” he said. “We’ve got three days of practice, starting Monday.
“They are a real important three days, from my perspective.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: October 9, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
