Juuso Riikola’s brief foray into forward life might officially be over — and that’s a good thing.
As recently as 10 days ago, the Penguins were so injury-ravaged they were forced to play the Finnish defenseman as the fourth-line left wing. Now, after coming up with a creative solution to fill the forward hole, coach Mike Sullivan & Co. encounter the opposite question.
Assuming Evgeni Malkin returns to the lineup (more on that later) against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Penguins will likely be back to full strength for the first time since the second period of the second game. That means one of the 13 forwards will be a healthy scratch.
But who?
Friday’s practice offered a bit of insight as Dominik Kahun and Jared McCann rotated at left wing on the third line.
McCann took the first rep of the day. While that didn’t set anything in stone, it’s typically at least a hint that McCann is in the starting lineup, playing alongside center Nick Bjugstad and right wing Bryan Rust, while Kahun will find himself in the press box at game time.
“I never was a healthy scratch in my life,” Kahun said. “I hope it doesn’t happen. But if it happens, there’s nothing I can do. I’m just going to work hard again.”
Kahun began his Penguins tenure slowly, recording just two points in the first 11 games. But he’s come on strong of late, earning the Penguins’ fireman hat after scoring his first goal of the season last weekend against Dallas. He followed it up by claiming the third star of the night after tallying a goal and two assists Tuesday against the Flyers.
McCann, meanwhile, showed his versatility when Malkin went down. The 23-year-old Canadian moved from wing to center, scoring two goals and tallying an assist during the game against Columbus when Malkin was injured. In the nine games since, he’s posted two goals to bring his season total to five points.
“The coach staff is going to have some real difficult decisions,” Sullivan said after Tuesday night’s game. “That’s a good challenge to have as a coaching staff. We really like the depth of this group. We feel as though we can be a four-line team and every line is participating. I think that’s what it takes to win in this league.”
Just because the lineup is one way on Saturday doesn’t mean it will be the same going forward. There are a number of different options for the coaching staff to weigh. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, Riikola at wing is not one of them.
“There’s always a sense of competition,” McCann said. “You never want to get out of the lineup. You’ve got to bring your A-game every single night.
“Whatever happens, we’re going to stay together as a team. I know the coaches have some hard decisions to make. But we’re just going to try to stay focused and take it day-by-day.”
The latest on Malkin
Yes, Malkin has technically been tagged by Sullivan as a proverbial “game-time decision.” But it sure seems like that decision has already been made.
He was a full participant for the second consecutive practice Friday, playing between left wing Alex Galchenyuk and right wing Patric Hornqvist on the second line. He also practiced with the No. 1 power play. Both are strong signals he’ll be back.
“He looks good,” Sullivan said. “He’s participating in a full capacity. His conditioning is improving with each day he’s practicing with us. It looks really encouraging.”
Don’t call it a fourth line
After practice Friday, a reporter began to ask Sullivan about the “fourth line” when the coach stopped him.
“Which line is that?” Sullivan said with a grin.
Technically, the line featuring left wing Zach Aston-Reese, center Teddy Blueger and right wing Brandon Tanev is listed as the fourth line. But in Sullivan’s eyes, they aren’t playing like one.
The Penguins like the way they’re playing together so much that they’ve decided to keep them together, which has created what appears to be the direct competition between McCann and Kahun.
“They’re a line for me that has a distinct identity in what they bring to the team,” Sullivan said. “They’re hard to play against. They’re strong defensively. They’re a momentum line for us. We put them in difficult circumstances. They get a lot of defensive zone starts, and they’ve responded.”
The group was put together when the Penguins were saddled with injures to five of their forwards. At least for now, they’ll stay together with everyone healthy instead of, say, Tanev playing with the Malkin line or Sidney Crosby line.
“We really like what that line has accomplished the last few weeks since we’ve had them together,” Sullivan said. “We’ve kept them together for that reason. We think the role that we’ve cast them in is a really important role for our team. They’ve embraced it.”
McDavid vs. Crosby
It just might be a footnote here, but it will likely be the headline on the marquee Saturday when Crosby goes head-to-head against Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.
One could argue they’re currently the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world. At a minimum, they’re the top stars of the game.
“Both of those guys are elite players in their own right,” Sullivan said. “They’re generational talents. When they’re on the ice together, from a pure hockey fan standpoint, it’s a privilege to watch these guys, the way they play the game.”
Whose line is it anyway?
With everyone finally healthy, it’s worth sharing those lines and defensive pairings. So here you have it:
Lines:
Guentzel-Crosby-Simon
Galchenyuk-Malkin-Hornqvist
McCann OR Kahun-Bjugstad-Rust
Aston-Reese-Blueger–Tanev
Defensive pairings:
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Schultz
Johnson-Marino
Riikola-Ruhwedel
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDeFabo.
SCOUTING REPORT
Who: Penguins vs. Edmonton Oilers
When, where: 1 p.m., PPG Paints Arena
Look, listen: AT&T SportsNet, WXDX-FM (105.9), PittsburghPenguins.com.
Noteworthy: The Penguins went 2-0 against the Oilers last season, including an overtime win in Edmonton that ended with a highlight goal by Sidney Crosby. ... The Oilers are led by Connor McDavid, the former league MVP who has six goals and 17 assists through 14 games. ... Crosby has 17 points in 13 games. ... Entering Friday, McDavid’s linemate, Leon Draisaitl, led the NHL with 25 points. ... Rookie defenseman John Marino will play his first game against the Oilers, the team that drafted him in 2015. ... Former Penguins winger James Neal has scored 11 goals in his first season in Edmonton.
Did you know?: Evgeni Malkin, expected to return to the lineup Saturday, has 16 points in 14 career games against the Oilers.
First Published: November 1, 2019, 6:59 p.m.