CALGARY, Alberta -- Mike Sullivan wouldn't say that he's planning lineup changes tonight against the Flames, at least not definitively.
However, actions speak a little louder. And there was more than enough evidence to believe that Chad Ruhwedel and Derek Grant will see their first game action tonight for the Penguins at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
For one, as Sullivan was speaking, Juuso Riikola and Daniel Sprong were still out on the ice getting extra work. Secondly, Ruhwedel was already back in the dressing room ready to board the team bus while Grant was sporting a big, toothless grin. Yeah, those are usually tell-tale signs of who is playing and who is watching from the press box.
‘We have capable guys who have been out of the lineup," was all Sullivan would say.
After Tuesday's 6-5 OT win in Edmonton, a game in which the Penguins traded chance for chance with the Oilers and got pushed around a little by the likes of Milan Lucic and Zack Kassian, bringing in Ruhwedel and Grant makes sense on both fronts. Ruhwedel appeared in 44 games last season, scoring two goals and three assists, and would provide the defense corps with a needed right-handed shot. With Justin Schultz out, only Kris Letang shoots from the right.
"If I'm in, just play simple, play hard and just try and play my game," Ruhwedel told me.
The San Diego native has been the odd-man out for most of the last two seasons. It's never easy to watch he says, but he's never out of game shape. He works out and rides a stationary bikes during the games.
"Everyone wants to play, no one wants to sit," he said. "It can be a grind, but just have to stay positive."
Ruhwedel would seem likely to be paired with Jamie Oleksiak, who scored two goals against the Oilers. They have been paired together in the past and Oleksiak believes Ruhwedel might be just what the Penguins' leaky defense needs.
"He's a steady, reliable guy on the back end," Oleksiak was telling me. "He makes smart plays. He's not a high-risk player. He's good on the PK, really good defensively. I think that's going to be big for us. We can't give up as many chances as we did last game. I think he's going to really help us out with that, making really smart defensive plays when he needs to, moving the puck well and managing the puck. I think he'll be a good addition."
Grant, who signed with the Penguins in free agency after scoring a dozen goals last season in Anaheim, will likely center the fourth line with Matt Cullen and Bryan Rust. Grant said he prepares as if he's going to play every night and is itching to get in the lineup.
At 6-3 and 215, Grant also provides a little more muscle up front.
"I try to play a 200-foot game, try and be reliable defensively and strong on the puck and strong in the faceoff circle," he said. "Try to have an active stick and I think for me, we don't have the biggest, most physical team, and I think I can bring a little bit of that and be a trustworthy player out there."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: Justin Schultz, defenseman, (fractured left leg) is out four months.
THE SKATE
• The Penguins had an optional skate, the Flames a full one. Exercising their options for the visitors: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin. Matt Murray was the first goaltender off and will make his third consecutive start. -- Dejan Kovacevic
• Derick Brassard stayed on the rink nearly as long as tonight's scratches, working with Mark Recchi on, you guessed it, shooting the puck. They lined up rows and rows of pucks in front of an empty net and fired away. If you missed my column on that this morning, he's taken three total shots over the past six games.
"Just have to be patient with it and any time I have shifts at center I have to do my best," Brassard said. "Same thing if I go on the wing with Sid and Jake. Have to be good there. Tonight we have a little different lineup and we'll see what's going to happen."
Here was Brassard's self-assessment of his game:
"I had some really good looks, good scoring chances. Didn't really get any bounces and stuff, but I liked the way I skated and everything. Just have to keep going. If I have some scoring chances, produce some scoring chances, I'm in the right direction."
I asked Sullivan his thoughts on Brassard:
Well, we'll see. - DK
• It was in this place last winter that Evgeni Malkin basically lost his mind and dropped to the ice to block a shot. Cost him some time, too. I mentioned that in passing this morning, and he gave a knowing grin. Expect for him to let Murray make the saves in this one. -- DK
• Mike Smith will be in goal for the Flames after sitting out the past two games. It will be the 36-year-old's first start since giving up four goals on 30 shots last Friday night against Nashville. David Rittich had been in goal during the Flames' two-game road trip to Manhattan and Montreal, going 1-1. Despite the layoff, Smith says he's ready to get back in. "I got a lot of good work in," he said. "There's upside to not playing. The practice time is valuable, so I think that I got some good days of work in. Feeling good about where my game is at. Just got to go in there and be solid."
• The Flames officially activated defensmanTravis Hamonic from IR and assigned Anthony Peluso to Stockton of the AHL. Hamonic suffered an upper body injury in the season opener and missed the following eight games. "We're creatures of habit as hockey players," Hamonic said. "You want to be on the ice, you want to be helping your teammates. Don't want to be sitting at home while the team's on the road. you want to be battling. It's never a fun feeling." Hamonic is no stranger to the Penguins from his days with the Islanders. He has 14 points in 33 games vs. Pittsburgh.
• James Neal has been a bit of a disappointment since signing a five-year, $28.75 million contract with Calgary this summer. He has just one goal and an assist while skating on the third line. But he does have a strong knowledge of the Penguins, a team he played for from 2010-14. He says the key for the Flames is staying out of the penalty box to avoid Pittsburgh's power play -- with "three or four of the best players in the game," according to Neal -- which is currently ranked eighth at 27.8 percent. Neal even reminisced about his time with the Penguins. "It's never easy getting traded and getting traded for the first time, and the Penguins organization, you think of the guys you're going to play with — Sid, Geno and Flower — I loved paying with Geno. He's obviously a guy I was matched up with the most. I loved my time there. Obviously would have loved to win, but winning's hard. So, all good memories."
THE OTHER SIDE
During Thursday's skate, the Flames' Matthew Tkachuk stood in front of the top of the goal crease, screening Smith and tipping shot after shot. It went on for nearly 10 minutes.
At just 20 years of age, Tkachuk was putting his work ethic on display for all to see. He has been the talk of town after ripping his and his teammates' listless performance in a 3-2 loss at Montreal on Tuesday. He has drawn rave reviews for not only play -- he has three goals in nine games -- but his leadership and willingness to speak up. Despite his age, he already wears an alternate captain's 'A' on his jersey.
"You have guys in here like Gio, Monny, Backy, Smitty, guys that have been here for awhile and demand a lot out of us," Tkachuk said, referring to captain Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund and Smith. "That's great for players like me who are still new to the NHL. It allows for us to feel comfortable in there and play the way we want to play."
Tkachuk stood by what he said Tuesday and said that it's not unusual for anyone to speak up in the Flames' room.
"Everyone in the room, collectively, has a voice in here," he said. "That's the best thing about this team. It's great. The guys like Gio, when he talks, you're listening in the room. I think the message from the guys the past couple days is we need to be better. We know we need to be better. No better way to test that out than against probably the best team in the NHL the past couple years."
THE COMBINATIONS
The Penguins didn't show combinations at their skate. But here are the expected lines/pairings based on availability, both teams' most recent full sessions and what we were able to cull from discussions:
Brassard-Crosby-Guentzel
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Cullen-Sheahan-Hornqvist
Simon-Grant-Rust
Dumoulin-Letang
Johnson-Ruhwedel
Maatta-Oleksiak
Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Bennett-Ryan-Neal
Dube-Jankowski-Hathaway
Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Andersson
Valimaki-Stone
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is at 9:08 p.m. The Penguins will have an off day Friday as they travel to Vancouver where they'll face the Canucks at Rogers Arena at 10:08 p.m. Saturday.
THE COVERAGE
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