Penguins recall Sestito, get Sheary back

WASHINGTON -- The Penguins recalled enforcer Tom Sestito from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, and Sestito and Conor Sheary, fresh off a stick to the eye in the previous game, were sharing shifts on the fourth line at the team's morning skate Thursday at the Verizon Center.

Mike Sullivan said after the skate that Sheary would be a "game-time decision" before the 7:08 faceoff against the Capitals.

Sheary's right eye that got sticked was black and bruised, but he downplayed it:





Sullivan also announced that Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Olli Maatta will miss the final two games of the regular season. He initially misspoke and said they'd miss the next two weeks, but he clarified emphatically after his press gathering that he meant games. The coach didn't elaborate, other than to acknowledge this didn't really represent a change in status for any of those three.

Of Marc-Andre Fleury, who is projected to be closest to returning and is viewed separately from those three, Sullivan said, "He's making very good progress" with his concussion.

MEANINGLESS? EH

Washington long ago sealed up the NHL's best overall record and No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the Penguins are a virtual lock for home ice, so the game wouldn't appear to have implications beyond pride and staying healthy.

That might not be the case for either side, though.

The Capitals have two major individual objectives at hand: Alexander Ovechkin is three goals shy of his seventh 50-goal season. He'd be the league's only player to reach 50 if he gets there in the final three games. And Braden Holtby, at 47-9-6, has a chance to tie or break Martin Brodeur's league record of 48 goaltending wins, set in 2006-07 with the Devils.

Holtby downplayed his pursuit, focusing instead on the Penguins having won 13 of 14.

"They're a good team that's going well and playing hard, and it's a good challenge going into the playoffs," Holtby said. "We're going to need our top game to be successful."

Eric Fehr, Holtby's former teammate here, had this to say of his friend:



From the Pittsburgh perspective, it's a bit simpler.

"My experience in the past has been that you just want to be playing your best hockey going into the playoffs, and I'm sure the same will go for them," Sullivan said. "I'm expecting a hard-fought battle tonight."

BACKSTROM BACK

Nicklas Backstrom, the Capitals' No. 1 center with 20 goals and 47 assists, will return tonight after missing six games to injury, coach Barry Trotz confirmed after his team's skate.

Trotz called Backstrom "one of the best centermen in the National Hockey League and a Selke candidate," the latter awarded to the league's best defensive forward.

IN PRAISE OF PENGUINS

Trotz was asked for his view of the Penguins under Sullivan, including their 6-2 victory over the Capitals on March 20 at Consol Energy Center: "Obviously, Mike's done a tremendous job. But early in the year, they didn't have Trevor Daley, Justin Schultz and some of the players they've picked up. They were very young at the start of the year. And I think they're playing with a lot of pace. They're a quick team. And their defense is doing a great job of supplementing that. And they're feeling it. Their game is as good as I've seen it."

HOW THEY LINE UP

The Penguins' rushes at the skate:

Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Patric Hornqvist
Carl Hagelin-Nick Bonino-Phil Kessel
Tom Kuhnhackl-Matt Cullen-Fehr
Sheary/Sestito-Oskar Sundqvist-Beau Bennett

Daley-Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin-Ben Lovejoy
Ian Cole-Schultz

Matt Murray will start in goal.