CRANBERRY, Pa. -- All hockey players are bilingual, Gordie Howe once famously quipped. They speak English and profanity.
In the case of Olli Maatta and Juuso Riikola, they speak English, Finnish, Swedish and, yes, profanity.
On the ice, the two Finnish defensemen -- currently believed to be the NHL's only all-Finn pair -- converse strictly in English. That's so they do not confuse the Penguins' forwards, but Riikola can admit with a laugh that he's slipped a few times. Like most of his countrymen, Riikola started learning English when he was in the third grade but still thinks the game in Finnish.
"You need to be focused, when you're yelling on the ice because everything goes so quick," he was telling me. "Sometimes you might yell something in Finnish and then you realize that no one gets it."
On the bench and in the Penguins' dressing room, Maatta and Riikola speak to each other in their native tongue to the amusement of at least one teammate.
"They're always jabbering something to each other," cracks fellow defenseman Jamie Oleksiak.
With Justin Schultz on IR until February, the pairing of Maatta and Riikola has become a bit of a marriage of convenience for the Penguins since Mike Sullivan put them together in a Nov. 21 game against Dallas. It allows the top pair of Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang to remain intact and Oleksiak and Jack Johnson to bring a more physical dimension to the third pair.
Sullivan was saying Friday that he likes the high hockey IQ that both Maatta and Riikola possess:
Though he's a first-year NHL player, Riikola, 25, is actually nine months older than his defense partner. Maatta, who came to the Penguins in 2013 as a 19-year-old, has helped his teammate make the transition to the smaller North American ice surfaces.
"He's really mature, he knows how it is," Maatta was telling me. "He can take care of himself really well. I don't think he needs any help at all. He knows how to do that. It's never easy to come overseas, definitely, hockey-wise. I think it's impressive how easy he's made that transition."
Riikola, who had been in and out of the lineup prior to being paired with Maatta, is still looking for his first NHL goal after hitting a pair of posts in one shift against the Coyotes on Nov. 10. In 13 games this season, Riikola has one assist and is a minus-1 with four PIMs to go along with 15 blocks and 32 hits.
"He makes the play, definitely coming out of our zone, simple and easy plays," said Maatta, who became the 19th Penguins defenseman to record 100 career points with an assist Tuesday night in Winnipeg. "At the same time, he puts the puck to our forwards in good position. He's a smart player."
Indeed, the organization remains very high on Riikola, who is expected to settle into a top-four role when he's fully acclimated to the NHL game.
In addition to Maatta, Riikola has been working extensively with Sergei Gonchar.
The former defenseman has a strong track record of bringing out the best in the Penguins' blueliners, whether it's been Schultz, Oleksiak or, before that, Ian Cole.
Furthermore, Riikola says it's a chance to learn from someone he considers a future Hall of Famer. Growing up in Joenusu, 275 miles northeast of Helsinki, his two biggest influences weren't Teppo Numinen and Kimmo Timonen. It was Scott Niedermayer and Gonchar.
"It's been great," Riikola says of working with Gonchar. "When he's around and gives some tips and how to do the right things, the little things, it's a big help. You just listen a lot."
• After missing the previous two games with a concussion, Patric Hornqvist returned to practice. He started out in a white, non-contact jersey but threw on a black, full-contact sweater about 20 minutes into Friday's 45-minute session.
Hornqvist reported afterward that he "felt good" and was hopeful to play tomorrow night against the Flyers. And if he does, he's not going to change a thing about the way he plays.
"For me or for anyone with a concussion, either you're 100 percent or you're not 100 percent," he said. "That's the thing. You can't be, like, should I play the game? Or should I go into the battle (areas)? You have to be all in or you're not in."
• Sullivan said that the team does indeed have a timeline for the return of Matts Murray and Cullen -- both have been out with "longer term" lower body injuries -- but he wouldn't divulge when exactly that might be. Murray and Cullen have been out since Nov. 17.
• Tanner Pearson was given a maintenance day off. With the left wing out, it changed the lines up a little bit with Bryan Rust moving up to the second line in his place. Even with Hornqvist returning, Phil Kessel remained on the third line with Derick Brassard and Zach Aston-Reese.
• After playing most of his 11 games this season on the fourth line, Aston-Reese continues to skate on the third line. With the talent around him in Kessel and Brassard, he says he has to be stronger on the forecheck to free up time and space for his linemates and capitalize on his scoring chances when he gets them. He did just that Tuesday against the Jets when he scored his second of the season. Though he's satisfied overall with his game, he thinks he can do more.
"I need to finish," Aston-Reese told me. "Definitely had a few grade-A chances. Could have double to triple the amount of goals if I put those in."
• After going 19 games without a goal, Riley Sheahan scored his second of the season in Winnipeg. He's hoping that goal and a strong showing from the fourth line, will springboard him and his line moving forward.
If it does, it couldn't come at a better time for the Penguins, who will play their next three games at PPG Paints Arena where they have just 12 points (5-5-2) on home ice. Two of those upcoming games, including tomorrow's vs. the Flyers, are against divisional opponents. The Penguins are just 2-4-1 against the Metro Division.
"Those divisional games are important," Sheahan was telling me. "When you look at the standings at the end of the season, those are the ones that you really look at for points. For us now, we just have to get on a little roll here."
• Sheahan, one of many Penguins to sport mustaches during November to raise awareness for men's health issues, plans to shave it off.
• Garrett Wilson can certainly relate to J-S Dea. The Penguins reclaimed Dea off waivers Wednesday after he had put up three goals in his first four games with the Devils this season.
Wilson appeared in 34 games for the Panthers over parts of three seasons, the last of which was 2015-16, before getting another crack at the NHL this season with the Penguins. He says it's not easy to enjoy some success at the game's highest level and then find yourself back to riding buses and the dreaded three-in-threes in the AHL.
"You just got to bring the right attitude down there," said Wilson, who earned his first NHL point with an assist in Winnipeg. "Some guys go down there and sulk and feel sorry for yourself. You have to go down there, work hard and get better and get back as fast as you can."
Wilson, who centered a line last season in Wilkes-Barre with Dea and Daniel Sprong, believes Dea will get back to the NHL soon enough.
• Sans Pearson, here are the lines and pairs that were used Friday:
Guentzel -- Crosby -- Simon
Rust -- Malkin -- Hornqvist
Aston-Reese -- Brassard -- Kessel
Wilson -- Sheahan -- Grant
(Sprong)
Dumoulin -- Letang
Maatta -- Riikola
Johnson -- Oleksiak
(Ruhwedel)