PHILADELPHIA — The Penguins reiterated multiple times Wednesday morning that no one player is going to replace Patric Hornqvist, who will miss Game 4 against the Flyers with an upper body injury.
Based on their apparent gameplan without him, that certainly appears to be the case.
Dominik Simon appears poised to take Hornqvist’s spot on the Penguins’ top line next to Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, while Guentzel figures to replace Hornqvist on the team’s top power-play unit.
“We're obviously going to miss him tonight, but I think other guys are going to step up and play a bigger role,” winger Conor Sheary said Wednesday.
The biggest jump in responsibility for Game 4 will be for Simon, who will come down from the press box and make his Stanley Cup playoff debut, likely starting on Crosby’s right wing. Simon has four goals and eight assists this season in 33 games, most of which he played on Crosby’s line.
He has not played since March 25, though, a healthy scratch for the final six games of the regular season and first three of the playoffs. Simon has only played in two games since March 7, as an injury kept him out for six games.
“[My excitement] is really high, obviously,” Simon said. “If you’re not playing, you’re waiting for the chance like this. I was just staying with it, practicing with the boys, getting some additional practices. It feels great to be back.”
Simon said he has a comfort level playing with Crosby, who has assisted on three of Simon’s four NHL goals this season.
“He’s the best player in the world, so obviously it’s nice,” Simon said. “He finds you and he supports you in the spots where you need him. He’s always in the right spot and it’s fun to play with him.”
Mike Sullivan cited Simon’s offensive instincts and ability to play in traffic as assets he can bring to the Penguins.
As far as replacing Hornqvist, Simon admitted that will be a tall task, but he's going to try and do as much as he can.
“[Hornqvist] is an unbelievable player,” Simon said. “So much respect for the guy. It’s going to be tough, but I’ll do my best to do the work and to help the team.
“I think I’m ready. Let’s see tonight.”
Simon won't be the only one taking Hornqvist’s place. Guentzel figures to slot into the top power-play unit and take Hornqvist’s job as the net-front presence. The Penguins’ power play has struggled without Hornqvist this season, clicking at 12.9 percent when he is out of the lineup, compared to 26.2 percent when he is playing.
“Listen, Horny's a real good player for us, and he’s a unique player for us,” Sullivan said. “He brings a certain skill set to our power play and 5-on-5. We still have very capable guys. I believe that our power play still has the ability to be successful in the absence of a player like Horny.”
Guentzel, like Simon, isn’t going to necessarily replicate Hornqvist’s style of play but will try to attain similar results.
“If I get that chance, I’ve got to do some of what he does,” Guentzel said. “Get that front-of-the-net presence and let those guys do what they do.
“We’ve been in this situation before. Obviously a hard guy to replace, but we’re confident in the group here and what we can do.”
Starting strong
Even though the Penguins came out of the first period of Game 3 with a 1-0 lead, the Flyers controlled play for much of those 20 minutes.
In that case, the Penguins got by thanks to some stellar play from Matt Murray and a little bit of luck, but they’d like to get off to a quicker start Wednesday night.
“I thought we didn’t manage the puck quite as well as we’re capable of,” Sullivan said. “We ended up playing three-quarters of the ice for the first seven or eight minutes of the game, and as a result, we didn’t establish the type of game that we wanted to play. I think we just have to simplify our game, we’ve got to make the right decisions in the key areas of the rink and if we do that, I think we’ll be fine.”
Facing what is effectively a must-win game, the Flyers figure to come out of the gates flying. The Penguins know that, but they don’t want to focus on it.
“It's a huge game again,” Olli Maatta said. “We’ve got to do the same thing. I don’t think we can worry about that. I think we should just worry about how we’re going to come out, how we’re going to play.”
Game-time decisions
Sullivan said, once again, all players will be game-time decisions for Game 4 Wednesday, though Hornqvist will likely be the only absence.
The Penguins’ morning skate was heavily optional Wednesday, with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Derick Brassard, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz all opting out.
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Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG
First Published: April 18, 2018, 6:10 p.m.
