CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Looking ahead to today's session ...
• What: Penguins practice
• When: Noon-1 p.m.
• Where: Lemieux Sports Complex
• Media availability: 1-1:30 p.m.
• Open to fans: Yes, free
• Parking: Free
FOLLOW PRACTICE WITH BRADFORD
3:18: Having a defense corps comprised of all left-handed shots is far from ideal. “Unlucky,” is how Olli Maatta put it.
But with Kris Letang, Justin Schultz and now Chad Ruhwedel out of the lineup, the Penguins defense corps is all left-handed for the time being. This is nothing new to the Penguins; they’ve done it before in the past, but nothing changes schematically.
The only real difference comes on the power play where Maatta is now the quarterback. Instead of Crosby working passes for one-timers from the right-handed shooting Letang, it’s up to Phil Kessel, usually, to feed the left-handed Maatta.
The Penguins scored a pair of power play goals (2-for-4) on Wednesday with Maatta at the point. Maatta said he tries to not overthink things.
“For me, it's keep simple, just play the game,” he said. “You don’t really want to make set plays, (because) we have so many good players who can make plays. Just play hockey. Just play with your instincts.”
Besides being a lefty, Maatta possesses an accurate shot from his somewhat unusual shooting position. The Finn keeps his head up the entire time without looking down at the puck. He says he’s looking to see whether he has a lane, where the goalie is and where his teammates are.
“You see the best players do it, at least when I grew up watching (Nicklas) Lidstrom, he was really good at it,” Maatta told me. “He never looked at the puck and he could always always place the puck where he wanted to. I think that’s something I’ve been working at.”
Lidstrom, huh? I asked if he picks his corner every time: “That’s what I try,” he said with a laugh. “It doesn’t work that way every time.”
3:05: When Toronto native Jamie Oleksiak says it’s cold, you know it’s cold. After playing his first five seasons in Dallas, Oleksiak says he’s had to re-adapt to cold weather.
On the ice, the transition is going a little smoother. Oleksiak has 14 hits and two blocks in his three games, including two wins over Columbus. He expected there to be a bit of a learning curve coming to a new team, but the physical presence he’s brought is a constant, he said, rather than an attempt to impress.
“Just being a big guy, naturally that’s a big asset I have,” Oleksiak was telling me. “I try to use it as much as possible. It’s something I can bring to the team.”
Oleksiak hasn’t had much time to take in Pittsburgh, but was impressed by the overflow crowd that showed up for a practice on Thursday. That’s something else he probably didn’t see a lot of in Dallas.
“Never seen anything like that," he said. "Definitely gets the juices flowing and makes you want to try even that much harder."
2:45: A dozen years after he last participated in the World Junior Championship, Team Canada and 2005 gold medalist Sidney Crosby still avidly follows the tournament for the best under-20 players in the world.
The hard part, he says, is finding time to watch during the Penguins’ busy schedule.
“As a kid growing up in Canada, you’re glued to the TV, you get up early in the morning when it was over in Europe to watch games at three or four in the morning,” Crosby told me. “It’s just something that you grow up following and dreaming of playing.” Crosby played in the tournament twice and would like to see it held in his adopted hometown some day.
“It would be great,” Crosby said. “That’s what it’s all about, having that support for it. It’s such an exciting environment. I think at that age, everyone is so hungry, so much passion. Just to be able to see that, knowing you’re seeing guys who are going to be future NHL players, that’s exciting too. I think Canada has gotten behind it more than everyone else, but it would be great to see it here.”
Pittsburgh lost its bid to host this year’s tournament to Buffalo, where an outdoor showdown between Canada and the U.S. is scheduled for Friday afternoon at New Era Field. Yes, the captain is pulling for Canada.
1:22: Bad news on the injury front, per Sullivan: Matt Murray is day-to-day but will not start Friday in Carolina. Chad Ruhwedel (upper body) is out week-to-week. Bryan Rust (upper body) is out long term. Will have more stuff coming.
12:39: Stretching has commenced so players will be coming off here shortly. Headed to the room.
12:28: Blue Jackets stayed in town and are here practicing on the second rink. Very strange seeing those guys walking past the Penguins who are still practicing.
12:23: Sullivan has team working on PP and 5-on-5 stuff.
12:12: Jim Rutherford taking in practice from his eye in the sky perch above the rink.
12:06: The pairs ...
Dumoulin-Hunwick
Maatta-Corrado
Cole-Oleksiak
12:04: The lines ...
Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Sheahan-Sheary
Kuhnhackl-Rowney-Reaves
12:03: Matt Murray is not skating. Some goalie in a plain white mask is out here today. Don't think it's Michael Leighton either. (Update: told his name is Mike Chiasson, a team employee just filling in). Tristan Jarry is the other goalie, of course. Will get update afterward.
11:59: In other news, Frank Corrado has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre (dude is racking up some EZ-Pass bills) and Dominik Simon has changed his number from 45 to 12.
11:58: Made it. Had trouble finding parking or a seat to sit at in the Lemieux Complex. Full house today for practice. Man, we're talkin' about practice?
I'll have you covered as the Penguins put in a workout before jetting off to North Carolina for Friday's game against the Hurricanes. We could get updates on a trio of injured skaters: Kris Letang, Chad Ruhwedel and Bryan Rust. The latter two left Wednesday's win against Columbus midway through it.