CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Nope, Jim Rutherford didn't make a blockbuster trade to land a proven scorer to help his struggling team on Friday.
The Penguins' general manager got the next best thing.
Derick Brassard returned to practice at the Lemieux Complex and said there's a "good chance" he'll return for Saturday night's game against the Senators in Ottawa.
Brassard was a full participant in the 35-minute on-ice session Friday, taking some light physical contact from assistant coach Mark Recchi, and showed no ill-effects. Though he reported no problems afterward, coach Mike Sullivan said he'll be a game-time decision:
The 31-year-old center has been out since Oct. 25 after going down with what the team called a lingering "lower body injury." Brassard would not say if it was a reoccurrence of the groin injury he suffered last season.
How effective Brassard will be after a longer-than-expected three weeks remains to be seen. But even after just one practice, he should be a significant upgrade over what the Penguins have been receiving from centers not named Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
With Crosby out of the lineup with an upper-body injury, Brassard will likely slot in a familiar top-six role. On Friday, he centered the second line between Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel.
"My mindset is to just go back out there and try and play a simple game tomorrow," Brassard was saying. "Yes, I skated but today was my first practice with the team and doing some drills, 5-on-5 drills out there, some game-like situations.
"I've been skating with a skills coach, it's not the same thing. I'm just going to try, if I play tomorrow, just play my game and keep it really simple. If I play over 18 minutes, I'll try the best I can to help the team. But, yes, I'm excited to be out there."
Not nearly as excited as the Penguins. Coincidentally or not, Brassard's injury began the start of their current slide.
They had been 5-1-2 and averaging 4.38 goals per game with Brassard when he was last seen walking with a noticeable limp out of the Saddledome in Calgary. Since then, they have lost seven of nine and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Over that nine-game span, they have averaged just 2.9 goals per game.
Getting Brassard back in the lineup could provide a large dose of confidence in a dressing room that has appeared fragile and has already seen Carl Hagelin dealt to the Kings for Tanner Pearson.
"I think it would be great," Sullivan said of Brassard's effect in the room. "He's a good player, really good player. He's certainly a guy that's going to make our team better. The fact that he's as close as he is, is encouraging."
It's somewhat ironic that Brassard is being viewed as a savior for what has ailed the Penguins this season. Since coming over from the Senators at last February's trade deadline, he's been a polarizing figure among the fanbase.
However, Brassard has averaged .59 points per game in his 22 games as a Penguin, which is actually a slight improvement over the .55 he averaged with Ottawa, his hometown team and the one he could face Saturday night.
Before he went down with his latest injury, Brassard had four points in his final two games, including three assists vs. the Flames. He was also playing left wing on Crosby's line at the time. After scoring his lone goal of the season vs. the Capitals in the season opener, he then went five games without a point and just one shot on goal.
However, if he returns Saturday it will be at his natural position and not a moment too soon.
"I liked the way I started the season," Brassard was saying. "I felt I had a stretch ... where I was producing offense but nothing was going in. When I got hurt, I think I had a good game in Calgary. Yeah, now I have to start from scratch and go out there with an open mind and play free and have fun."
• Brassard also worked on the second power play unit with Pearson and Dominik Simon up front. Simon split some reps with Daniel Sprong. On the back end, the unit had Olli Maatta with, most interestingly, Jamie Oleksiak. That's a bit of a departure as Oleksiak has just one career power play goal.
However, with Sullivan trying to get his team to adapt what he calls a "shooter's mentality," placing Oleksiak on the power play would make some sense. The big defenseman possesses a hard, heavy slap shot.
Oleksiak told me that he's never had his shot clocked by a radar gun, but he once took part in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition in 2013. He took his maximum two shots and ... both hit the post and didn't register.
"It was kind of embarrassing," Oleksiak said.
• Crosby did not practice after sitting out Thursday night's loss to Tampa Bay. However, he did skate prior to his teammates.
• Matt Cullen was fined $1,000 for his "dangerous trip" on the Lightning's J.T. Miller by the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
• The Penguins are scheduled to hold a morning skate at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre, where they'll take on the Senators at 7:08 p.m.
• The lines used in practice looked like this (the defensemen were rotated):
Pearson -- Malkin -- Hornqvist
Guentzel -- Brassard -- Kessel
Simon -- Grant -- Rust
Sheahan -- Cullen -- Aston-Reese
