CRANBERRY, Pa. — When Patric Hornqvist went down with a concussion, Mike Sullivan had a couple of options available to him.
He could have gone back to Bryan Rust, who finished out Friday night’s overtime loss in Boston on the Penguins’ top line.
He could have loaded up and placed Phil Kessel on Sidney Crosby’s right side.
He could have made a splash and appeased a large segment of the fanbase that’s been clamoring to see Daniel Sprong, and let the kid play in a meaningful top-six role.
Instead, Sullivan leaned on Dominik Simon to skate alongside Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
It might not have been the sexiest move, but it was also the most logical:
Rust? Put it this way, when he scored a goal Monday in practice, his teammates threw their hands up in celebration. He hasn’t scored one in an actual game in over a month.
Kessel? He’s got too much of a good thing going with Evgeni Malkin and Tanner Pearson.
Sprong? Well, you had to know Sullivan wasn’t just going to hand over the keys to the Ferrari to just anyone.
To be sure, Sullivan has used Guentzel, Crosby and Simon on a line in the past but it appears they will be together for at least a few more games. Hornqvist didn’t practice on Monday and Sullivan offered no update on his status, throwing into serious doubt Hornqvist's availability for back-to-back road games Tuesday and Wednesday against the Jets and Avalanche.
If Saturday’s win over the Metro Division-leading Blue Jackets is any indication though, the Penguins should get by just fine.
Against Columbus, the new-look top line accounted for six points, three of them coming on Guentzel’s first regular-season hat trick.
“It’s great to play with them, unbelievable players,” Simon was telling me after Monday’s 45-minute on-ice session at Lemieux Complex. “The game is so fast with them. They make a lot of scoring chances, a lot of scoring opportunities.”
Simon earned the primary assist on Guentzel’s third goal. Though it might have been the ugly ducking of the three, it was the byproduct of exactly the kind of hard work that the Penguins are looking for from Simon.
The Czech was hard on the puck around the front of the Blue Jackets net and was able to get a shot off on Joonas Korpisalo. Guentzel merely had to bury the rebound.
“We all work give-and-go's, all support each other,” Crosby explained of his line’s dynamic. “There’s nothing special about the way we want to play. Just work hard, hold onto pucks and force turnovers, and just read off each other. I think we’re all comfortable making plays, shooting, playing in front of the net, going to those areas. I think it’s just a matter of our details.”
Besides putting himself in good position to accept passes from Crosby on the forehand or backhand, Simon says the key is simple: You have to produce. If that line’s not scoring, Simon knows he’ll be the one who won’t be playing on it.
Is that added pressure?
“Yeah, it is,” Simon admits. “It’s a line that has to score goals, definitely. On the other hand, like every other line, it’s made that way: To score goals. But we have to play responsibly defensively, too.
“It is pressure, for sure, but when you’re playing you’re not thinking about it.”
Last season, like a lot of young players, Simon struggled consistently when playing without the puck. But the 24-year-old says he’s worked hard over the off-season in trying to round out his game.
“I hope it’s visible,” he says.
Apparently it was. At least enough for Sullivan to trust Simon on the top line.
• In the Jets’ last game, an 8-4 win over the Blues at St. Louis, Patrik Laine scored five goals to give him a league-best 19 in just 22 games. The Penguins are hoping to avoid a repeat, but Kris Letang says the Jets are more than one guy.
“Obviously, we’re going to pay attention to him but they still have a lot of weapons,” the defenseman said. “They’re a good hockey team, they’re a contender every year. We’re going to have to play a good solid road game with a defensive conscience.”
It doesn't get any easier for the Penguins on Wednesday when they take on the Avalanche with Mikko Raantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL's top-two points producers.
"From a defensive standpoint I think our team, for sure, will be tested," Sullivan said. "But I do think if we play the game the right way, which we've certainly trended in that direction and played better as of late, I think we have become a more difficult team to play against. When we do that, I believe our team can play against anyone."
• Nearly 13 months after he made his NHL debut in Winnipeg, Casey DeSmith will likely get the start tomorrow night against the Jets. He's just hoping it goes a little bit better than his last visit to Manitoba.
Last Oct. 29, the goalie allowed three goals on 15 shots after entering the game in relief of Matt Murray late in the first period of a 7-1 loss. DeSmith has already planned out how he’d like Tuesday’s game to go.
“Putting together a strong first period, weather the storm off the bat and try and stay in the game,” he said.
Though the Bell MTS Place is the smallest in terms of capacity (15,321), it’s also among the NHL’s loudest.
“I love a raucous crowd over a small crowd any day,” he said. “The louder a building, the more fun it is to play.”
• No time is ever a good time for an injury, but that was certainly the case for Derek Grant, who returned to practice Monday albeit in a non-contact jersey. The center has missed the last two games after suffering an upper body injury after taking, what he says was an awkward fall, in last Wednesday’s win over Dallas. In that game, Grant recorded an assist, his first point since signing with the Penguins last summer.
Grant confirmed that he’ll make the road trip to Winnipeg and Denver, but says he’s in wait-and-see mode.
“Felt good about myself heading into that (Dallas) game, still feels good, hasn’t been too long,” he said. “Just got to get back into it.”
• During Monday’s practice, Sullivan employed the same lines and pairs as Saturday:
Guentzel - Crosby - Simon
Pearson - Malkin - Kessel
Rust - Brassard - Aston-Reese
Wilson - Sheahan - Sprong
Dumoulin - Letang
Maatta - Riikola
Johnson - Oleksiak
(Ruhwedel)