ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Anytime an NHL team holds a sizable lead in hits or blocked shots, it's sort of like winning the comeback player of the year award. It's nice and all, but you don't necessarily want to hold that distinction.
The Penguins blocked 23 shots in their 6-1 win over the Blues on Saturday but they could pay a steep price for it tonight when they face the Wild.
They will be without Bryan Rust and could also be without Olli Maatta.
Rust has been one of the Penguins' most productive forwards of late, scoring eight goals in the previous nine games. Maatta will be a game-time decision.
Both players are believed to have suffered lower body injuries after throwing their bodies in front of St. Louis shots in a one-sided win on Saturday. Sullivan doesn't apologize for it and says injuries are sometimes unavoidable.
"Blocked shots is a big part of playing defense, that's an important aspect of being a good defensive team and making a commitment to keeping pucks out of the net," he said. "The more opportunities that we have to deny getting the puck to the net, it gives us a better chance to keep the puck out of the net. It's not always the first shot that's dangerous. Sometime it's the next play that's dangerous. So our ability to block shots and keep it away form the scoring area, makes us better defensively."
Obviously, the Penguins want to be a team that's driving possession and not having to throw checks or block shots. Still, they are second in the NHL with 1,120 hits and 11th in blocks with 567.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE INJURIES
• Penguins: In addition to Maatta and Rust, Justin Schultz, defenseman, is out until mid-February with a fractured leg. Sullivan said Thursday that Schultz is progressing and that the next big step for him will be to get back on the ice.
• Wild: Matt Dumba, defenseman, has missed the last five games with an upper body injury. Nick Seeler, defenseman, sat out Saturday's game with an upper body injury.
THE NON-SKATE
• Casey DeSmith will get the start in goal. It'll be his first start since Dec. 20, also against the Wild. In that game, DeSmith stopped 40 of 41 to push his record to 6-4-1.
Considering that performance, and the fact that Matt Murray has played five of seven games since returning from injury, Sullivan said it made the decision easy. The Penguins still have nine games, including two sets of back-to-backs, before their bye week starts on Jan. 20.
"By sharing the workload a little bit, we can keep them both at their best," Sullivan said.
The improved goaltending from both DeSmith and Murray has been a big factor in the Penguins' turnaround this month.
"It's a huge part of it, no question," Sullivan said. "These guys are making timely saves. But I do think we're defending hard in front of them. We're doing a better job of limiting not only the quality of chances, but the quantity as well. When we do break down those guys have been there to make saves at key times for us."
No matter who's been in net, the results -- the Penguins are 8-2-0 in their last 10 and have won five in a row -- have been the same. That despite Murray and DeSmith are completely different in demeanor.
"Just different people," Sullivan says. "Casey's a little more easy-going, laid-back. Matt's a little more intense. It's just their personalities."
• Sullivan insists he's never been reluctant about using Sidney Crosby on the penalty-kill. The coach says he hasn't played there in the past because he wanted to better manage the star's minutes.
Crosby, who is averaging 20:34 a night, has been averaging :23 per game while shorthanded this season. He has three career shorthanded goals but none since the 2010-11 season. That was the same season that he suffered a concussion that nearly ended his career after taking a blindside hit in the Winter Classic.
By placing him there now, alongside Jake Guentzel, Sullivan believes it gives the PK a different look and opponents something to think about.
• Following Sunday's practice at Xcel Energy Center, Sullivan could be seen talking to Malkin alone on the ice. He says it's nothing out of the ordinary for him to do so and said he'd be negligible if he didn't.
"Our responsibility as a coaching staff is to try and help guys through the ups and downs of a season," Sullivan said. "Everyone goes through it. Geno's no different. We think Geno's really trending the right way."
He pointed out that by placing him between Dominik Simon and Patric Hornqvist, that he's giving Malkin the best chance for success.
"We're trying to help him off the ice with any of the insights that our coaching staff sees," he said.
• It's not every day you see a 5 p.m. (local) start in the NHL but with this being New Year's Eve, fans will still have plenty of time to ring in 2019 after the game.
THE OTHER SIDE
• The Wild also did not take the ice after holding a full practice Sunday at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.
• Minnesota's 2-1 loss to the Penguins on Dec. 20, a game in which Rust was gift-wrapped a pair of goals on ghastly Wild turnovers, marked its first loss in a five-game losing streak. That streak was snapped on Saturday when the Wild scored a 3-1 win at Winnipeg.
• Tonight's game is the first of five in a row against Eastern Conference opponents for the Wild. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 vs. the east this season.
THE COMBINATIONS
• The Penguins' lines and pairings:
Guentzel—Crosby—Aston-Reese
Simon—Malkin—Hornqvist
Pearson—Brassard—Kessel
Grant—Cullen—Sheahan
Dumoulin—Letang
Oleksiak—Riikola
Pettersson—Johnson
• And for the Wild:
Zucker—Staal—Granlund
Parise—Coyle—Kunin
Greenway—Koivu—Niederreiter
Foligno—Fehr—Hendricks
Suter—Spurgeon
Brodin—Pateryn
Bartkowski—Prosser
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is at 6:08 p.m. (ET) at Xcel Energy Center. The Penguins are scheduled to practice Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York where they'll take on the Rangers the next night.
THE COVERAGE
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