The Penguins in the last week added three candidates to center their third line during the playoffs. General manager Jim Rutherford feels the team has enough talent on the wings. Just last Monday, they traded a defenseman because they felt they already had too many.
And considering Rutherford has said he would prefer to not part with his first-round pick before the Feb. 25 trade deadline, this could be the crew coach Mike Sullivan has to work with during the postseason push.
If there are indeed no more tweaks, Sullivan would be OK with that.
“I’m comfortable with our group. I believe we’ve got a very good team,” he said Tuesday before the Penguins hosted the Carolina Hurricanes. “When we play the game the right way, we’re a competitive hockey team.”
The Penguins, by their lofty standards, have not always played the game “the right way,” which is why Rutherford has already turned over about a third of the roster since the season started in October.
In four separate trades, he dealt for defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forwards Tanner Pearson, Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann while also adding Joseph Blandisi, another forward who was soon sent to the minors.
“The new personalities fit in really well. They’re all good people. I think they’re excited to be Penguins,” Sullivan said. “They’re excited to be here. And that enthusiasm is hopefully something that will be contagious.”
In-season call-ups Zach Aston-Reese, Garrett Wilson and now Teddy Blueger, who was promoted last week, have made an impact here, too.
Plus, the return of Justin Schultz will feel like a big deadline acquisition.
“We’re a better team today with some of the changes that Jim has made to our team. I think he’s improved the team,” Sullivan said. “It’s similar in a lot of senses because the core players are still here and the environment feels the same, and a lot of it has to do with our approach every day.”
While some outside the organization have suggested the Penguins should add another top-line winger, Sullivan feels the Penguins have a skilled, versatile group already – especially when you consider that Bjugstad could be moved to the wing once Evgeni Malkin returns to the lineup.
“We have as much versatility in that regard, I think, as any team in the league,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of natural centers in our lineup.”
Sullivan believes the Penguins have what it takes to make a serious Stanley Cup run with this roster. But they still have to play the games.
“Our challenge is to make sure we go out and we earn it every day,” he said. “Nothing is inevitable in this game. You can put a roster together and it can look good on paper. But we’ve got to go out and make it happen.”
Schultz, Malkin ‘making progress’
Justin Schultz, who on Monday participated in his first full-contact practice since fracturing his ankle in October, was back on the ice Tuesday for the morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. He did not suit up against Carolina, but it seems likely he returns during the upcoming road trip.
“He responded very well. He had another full day [Tuesday],” Sullivan said. “His status right now is the same. … He’s getting closer.”
Malkin, meanwhile, skated at PPG Paints Arena alongside Zach Aston-Reese, who remains on injured reserve with a left hand injury. But both headed to the locker room before the Penguins took the ice for the morning skate. Malkin then missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury.
“They’re making progress,” Sullivan said.
Blueger eyes improvement
Teddy Blueger had another goal in Saturday’s loss in Toronto, giving him two in his first three NHL games. He scored on his first two NHL shots.
Blueger had 10 goals in his last 11 AHL games before getting called up.
“With the scoring, it’s just believing in myself more mentally and not just thinking of myself as a shutdown guy,” he said.
Blueger said getting a couple on the board early here in Pittsburgh has helped him maintain his confidence as he breaks into the NHL. But the 24-year-old, a longtime center whom the Penguins are playing at left wing on the fourth line, knows his game must keep growing to stick around.
“That’s kind of the goal, to improve every game and do more every game as you try to get more comfortable,” said Blueger, who projects as a third-line center early in his career. “As soon as you reach one goal, you’ve got the next one in front of you. There’s always something more to strive for.”
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: February 5, 2019, 6:11 p.m.
