PHILADELPHIA -- When the Penguins returned to practice Tuesday morning, so too did the second and third lines they used two days earlier in Philadelphia for Game 3.
With Patric Hornqvist out with an upper body injury, the first line will certainly look different whether it's Dominik Simon or Zach Aston-Reese on the right side of Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
But when the puck drops tonight at the Wells Fargo Center, expect the second line to be loaded up again with Evgeni Malkin centering Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin and the third line to have Derick Brassard centering Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust.
Following Sunday's 5-1 win over the Flyers, Mike Sullivan deemed the moves a "general shakeup," a response to their loss by the same score two nights earlier in Game 2, a loss that wasn't the "disaster" that the media portrayed it to be.
So what to make of the Penguins' new/old lines? If nothing's broke (they're averaging 4.33 goals per game in this series), why fix it, right?
Basically, it's a tacit admission that the Penguins are looking for ways to get Kessel more involved, particularly at even strength. That would help to explain why they practiced extensively at 5-on-5 during Tuesday's session at the Lemieux Sports Complex. That's bit of a departure from recent practices that have stressed special teams.
Placing Kessel and Malkin on the same line is a bit of a departure too. Obviously, they've done it in the past, including at times this season. Most famously they were together during last year's successful Stanley Cup title defense.
But in acquiring Brassard from Ottawa it was supposed to allow the Penguins to have Crosby, Malkin and Kessel on separate lines. However, getting chemistry between Kessel and Brassard has been easier said than done.
Clearly, they had some on the Penguins' first power play goal on Sunday. Kessel collected a rebound on the left side of the net and made a nifty pass on his forehand to Brassard, who wired it top shelf past Brian Elliott's glove:
"I thought it was Phil's best game, for sure," Sullivan said after Tuesday's practice. "He made some really nice plays on the power play. I thought he was skating (hard at) 5-on-5. I thought he had the puck a fair amount and that's when Phil's at this best."
Through three playoff games, Kessel has just four shots with three of those coming in Game 2. That's in line with his play over the final quarter of the regular season when it's believed that he sustained some sort of upper body injury. He did finish with a flurry, recording five points in the final two games, but had just 10 points in the dozen games previous to that.
Finishing off the Flyers in their first-round series is the Penguins' top priority, but 1A might just be getting Kessel going offensively.
By reuniting him with Malkin, it's hoped they can recreate their magic of last spring when Kessel had 23 points (eight goals) and Malkin a league-best 28 points (10 goals) in 25 playoff games. The biggest drawback to the Kessel-Malkin duo has been that when they've been together, they've deferred too much and passed up shots.
"They can be dynamic," Sullivan said. "They're two elite players that when they have the puck, they're as dangerous a tandem as there is in the league and so they've shown an ability to play well together in the past. We thought it might be an opportunity to get Phil going a little bit. And so we thought we'd make that adjustment. But, like I've said, nothing's etched in stone.
"We like the versatility that we have with our forward positions and being able to move people up and down the roster in order to create a certain effect on our overall team. We think that's a strength of our group. We want to create a little more balance offensively. We can move Phil with Brass if we want to try and create a more dynamic line. We can move him with Geno and that's what we've done all year long. We may continue to do that moving forward."
But in moving Kessel off the third line it's also an acknowledgement that Brassard will have to anchor the third line with little star power around him.
Brassard has so far lived up to his advance billing as a postseason performer, recording a goal and assist -- both on the power play -- in his first three playoff games with the Penguins. But that pace will be a little tougher to keep up with Sheary and Rust as his linemates.
Rust has one goal and Sheary has one assist, both of those points coming in the lopsided 7-0 win in Game 1. But Sullivan said Tuesday that he likes the speed element that his new third line can bring.
"I think it's a good, solid two-way line," the coach said. "I think Brass and Rusty bring a two-way, overall game. And Conor has great offensive instincts. There's a lot of speed on the wings. They're a dangerous line offensively and I think Brass is a solid, reliable two-way center iceman. I think it gives it a defensive conscience as well, so there's balance among the line."
Rust, the Penguins' most versatile forward, has worked with both players in the past and says it won't take long to get acclimated to his new role.
"Not a whole lot different," he told me. "Derick's a good player, he can skate well, really skilled guy, plays both ends of the ice. It's fun to play with him."