CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Good morning from the Lemieux Sports Complex, where I'll have your live coverage from the Penguins' practice that begins at noon, followed by this week's Hertz Drive to the Net feature.
FOLLOW THE PRACTICE WITH DK
1:35: Sullivan offered three bits of news:
• Hornqvist won't accompany the team on this New York-Minnesota trip. He'll stay in Pittsburgh, continue skating, then be "reassessed," the coach said, when the Penguins return Saturday to play the Devils.
• Derrick Pouliot is being sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a three-game stint that's allowed by being on LTIR. After that, he'll be checked again by doctors in Pittsburgh.
• The coach pretty much shrugged off the defense shakeup, saying vaguely that "it's something we'll do occasionally to create a spark or get someone's game back on track:"
https://vimeo.com/192670230
1:33: OK, finally done in there. The general theme, and this was reflected in the on-ice session, is that the Penguins need to be more patient and stay in tighter packs against the trap. I'll have much, much more on this in the feature, but here's what Phil Kessel had to say:
https://vimeo.com/192663624
12:36: And just like that, the formal part is done. Makes sense to go about the length of a morning skate, given New York tomorrow, Minnesota Friday and New Jersey Saturday. I'll report back from the locker room in a little while. Have a bunch of stuff to gather in there, including for the feature.
12:32: Breakaway competition. If I told you that, out of the first dozen shooters, only Tom Sestito and Brian Dumoulin scored, you wouldn't believe me, so I won't waste your time. At least Sestito had the dignity to celebrate beating Matt Murray by dropping to one knee and repeatedly pumping his fist.
12:19: There are about 200 people in here watching on a Tuesday afternoon, during work and school and that sort of thing. Never stops amazing me, the passion that the public has for this franchise.
12:17: Long chalk talk right now from Rick Tocchet. Leads to a drill in which the team generates shots and traffic on net. This stuff seldom needs to be over-thought.
12:10: Wouldn't read too much into the switch of pairings. Kris Letang was a minus-2 last night, and no defenseman really stood out negatively in that regard. It's likely a simple matter of wanted someone on each pair who makes the simple play against all the trap teams this week. We'll see.
12:08: Line rushes show unchanged forward combinations from the 5-2 loss to the Rangers last night, but a switch in the top two defensive pairings:
Hagelin-Crosby-Sheary
Guentzel-Malkin-Kessel
Wilson-Bonino-Rust
Kuhnhackl-Cullen-Fehr
Maatta-Letang
Dumoulin-Daley
Cole-Schultz
MORE PENGUINS
Drive to the net: How to beat the trap
Yohe: Rangers rally to beat Penguins
Kovacevic: Guentzel's goals sound alarm
DK Sports Radio: Tim Benz on Penguins