EDMONTON, Alberta — The Penguins blue line took another hit this week.
Justin Schultz, who was injured during the 4-1 victory Tuesday at Calgary, will be “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. Schultz took what appeared to be a knee-to-knee collision during his first shift Tuesday. He left the game and never returned.
This will be Schultz’s second significant stint away from the team. He was previously on injured reserve from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6 with a lower-body injury.
In 27 games this season, Schultz has tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) and a minus-5 rating. When everyone is healthy, he had been skating on the second pairing with Marcus Pettersson. But with injuries on the blue line, he more recently was skating with Jack Johnson.
The latest injury means the Penguins will be forced to play without two of their top four defensemen. The team’s top lefty, Brian Dumoulin, is still recovering from ankle surgery. He’s expected to be out at least through the end of January.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Penguins had just 18 healthy skaters on the NHL roster. With just six healthy defensemen at practice, Johnson and Kris Letang skated together on the top pairing. Pettersson and John Marino played together. Lefty Juuso Riikola got a chance to play on his natural side along with righty Chad Ruhwedel.
Should the Penguins choose to recall a defenseman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Zach Trotman typically would be an option. He was with the Penguins from Nov. 21 to Dec. 6 when injuries hit the blue line earlier this year. But he’s currently dealing with a head injury. David Warsofsky is another one of the top defensemen in Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton, but he missed the last game with a groin injury.
Coming home
A cluster of photos hangs in a back hallway at Rogers Place, the home of not just the Edmonton Oilers but also the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
There in the center of the 2014 Memorial Cup-winning team, you’ll find the familiar face of Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.
Found this photo hanging at Rogers Arena here in Edmonton. You might recognize a certain goalie from the Edmonton Oil Kings 2014 Memorial Cup championship. pic.twitter.com/eAVIJscUpo
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) December 19, 2019
The Oil Kings selected Jarry in the third round of the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft. He went on to play four seasons in Edmonton on the path to becoming a Penguins second-round pick. Initially, he began as the understudy to Laurent Brossoit, who is now a backup goalie with the Winnipeg Jets. But after Brossoit went pro, Jarry took the reins during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
During the 2014 Memorial Cup — a four-team tournament that essentially determines who is the best junior hockey team in Canada — Jarry posted a 2.80 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
“I loved my time playing here,” Jarry said. “I was very fortunate to be drafted by the Oil Kings and get to finish my WHL career with the Oils Kings and win a couple times here. It was great. I had a lot of fun here.”
While Edmonton is almost like a second home, Jarry will return even closer to his roots Saturday. The Penguins are slated to face off with the Vancouver Canucks, the team Jarry rooted for as a kid when he was growing up in North Delta, a suburb about 20 miles outside the city.
Noesen claimed off waivers
What Stefan Noesen thought would be a three-game Western Canada swing took a significant detour Thursday. The Penguins forward was claimed off of waivers by the San Jose Sharks, ending his brief Penguins tenure.
When the New Jersey Devils chose not to give Noesen a contract this offseason, he went looking for a team. The Penguins initially signed him to a low-risk one-way contract in the AHL, thanks mostly to Noesen’s connection with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Mike Vellucci. Success followed. In 22 games, Noesen became one of the AHL’s most proficient scorers, tallying 14 goals (second-best in the league) and 22 points (ninth).
When Patric Hornqvist went down with an injury, the Penguins signed Noesen to a two-way NHL deal. Noesen, 26, appeared in six games this season for the Penguins, registering one goal on eight shots in 9:51 time on ice per game.
Noesen was a healthy scratch during Tuesday’s win at Calgary. With Noesen gone, the Penguins are down to 12 healthy forwards on their NHL roster.
Outdoor experience
Instead of the regularly scheduled practice Wednesday in Calgary, Penguins players boarded the team bus and went out to an outdoor rink about 25 minutes from the city, where they played an informal scrimmage.
“We’re always trying to look for windows of opportunity within our schedule where we can do some team-building activities maybe to break up the routine,” Sullivan said. “... It was a great opportunity to allow the guys to play the game outside. I think it brings them back to their childhood days. It’s fun. And we get a good skate out of it. I thought it was a win-win for everybody. I know our players enjoyed it.”
The calm blue sky.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 18, 2019
The cold, crisp air.
Youthful exuberance.
Teammates that become best friends.
Whether you've played one or 1,000 games, there's always something special about moments like this. pic.twitter.com/K4TNRlTXUA
Mike DeFabo: mdefabo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mikedefabo
First Published: December 19, 2019, 8:48 p.m.
Updated: December 19, 2019, 11:40 p.m.