Phil Kessel's ironman streak lives on, but it would seem the injury that nearly snapped the NHL's third-longest active consecutive games streak at 689 is still bothering him somewhat.
The Penguins' second leading scorer with 87 points, Kessel did not practice with his teammates on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. He was given a maintenance day according to Mike Sullivan.
Perhaps more concerning is that Derick Brassard also did not take the ice for practice. The Penguins' biggest trade deadline acquisition has missed the past two games with a lower body injury sustained last Tuesday vs. the Red Wings in Detroit. When healthy, Brassard is expected to center the Penguins' third line with Kessel as his right wing.
Sullivan said there was no update to Brassard's status, only that he is progressing but has not skated yet.
If the playoffs started today, it's unclear if Brassard would play but he wouldn't be the first to play through injury in the postseason. Sullivan said all players on all teams are beaten up to some degree by April.
"There isn’t a guy in there who isn’t nicked up, that’s the reality of the business were in," Sullivan said. "Every guy in there has bumps and bruises.
"I think it just boils down to trying to manage all of our nicks and bumps the best we can. If we think it makes sense to hold a guy out for whatever is in front of us, than we do that. If we don’t, and we think it’s a guy that can help us win and play under the circumstances, then we’ll make those decisions accordingly."
Carter Rowney was also absent from Tuesday's practice.
The Penguins return to game action Thursday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Though they have clinched a playoff berth, the Penguins' opponent and seeding is still to be determined over their final two regular-season games.
• Tuesday was picture day as the 2017-18 Penguins donned their road whites for the group shot. If the Penguins defend the Stanley Cup, they will pose again with their collective hardware.
• The Penguins used the following lines and pairs:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust
Hagelin - Malkin - Hornqvist
Sheary - Sheahan - Simon
Kuhnhackl - Jooris - Aston-Reese
Dumoulin - Letang
Maatta - Schultz
Hunwick - Oleksiak