Olli Maatta isn't about to be traded, if he was ever going to be. That much we know. He'll be out of the Penguins' lineup indefinitely with what we've learned is a separated shoulder, ending any speculation about him being moved before the Feb. 25 trade deadline.
What isn't known is how long Maatta might be out.
A day after Maatta was placed on IR, Mike Sullivan offered little detail about the injury or when the Finn might return to the lineup, if at all. But he did acknowledge that Maatta, who plays both on the penalty kill and some on the second power play unit, is "going to be hard to replace."
"Olli's a good, two-way player, really reliable, you know what to expect when Olli's on the ice," said Kris Letang, who it appears will be paired once again with Brian Dumoulin. "Good first pass. He'll join the rush on occasion. He's a steady player."
The defenseman who will replace Maatta in the lineup won't be Justin Schultz either. At least it won't be tonight when the Penguins host the Oilers at PPG Paints Arena. Schultz said he is close to returning and that could come this weekend, but he's not quite there yet.
"We're close," Schultz said. "Just keep working hard and doing the right things and I'll be in in no time."
With no Maatta or Schultz, that means thad Chad Ruhwedel will draw back into the lineup for his first game action since Nov. 19 vs. Buffalo. Ruhwedel has zero points with a minus-8 rating in 11 games this season, while averaging 15:26. The Penguins went just 3-6-2 with him in the lineup. He appeared in 44 games last season, recording two goals for five points with a minus-8 rating as the Penguins went 25-15-4.
Being a healthy scratch for extended periods of time is nothing new to Ruhwedel, but he says he tries to embrace the challenge and to just keep his game simple:
"Play to your strengths, then just let it take the game by stride," he was telling me. "It's going to come back quick, so be ready for that."
While losing a top-four defenseman is never ideal, especially with 25 games remaining in the season and a playoff berth still in the balance, the Penguins are confident they can get by with what they have. The emergence of Juuso Riikola, one of the better free agent signings last summer, obviously helps. When Schultz returns to the lineup, it had been expected that Riikola might be the odd-man out. Now, the 24-year-old is about to play some vital minutes.
"I think every d-man needs to do a little bit more," Riikola was telling me. "It's never good when something like that happens, but it is what it is."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE COMBINATIONS
• The Penguins’ expected lines/pairings:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rust
Pearson - Bjugstad - Kessel
Blueger - McCann - Hornqvist
Wilson - Cullen - Aston-Reese
Dumoulin - Letang
Riikola - Johnson
Pettersson - Ruhwedel
• And for the Oilers:
Draisaitl - McDavid - Kassian
Khaira - Nugent-Hopkins - Puljujarvi
Lucic - Malone - Chiasson
Riedger - Cave - Brodziak
Klefblom - Larsson
Nurse - Russell
Petrovic - Gravel
THE INJURIES
• Justin Schultz, defenseman, was a full participant in the morning skate but will not play. He's been out since Oct. 13 after suffering a fractured leg.
THE SESSION
• The Penguins held a full morning skate Wednesday with all available players taking the ice, including Evgeni Malkin. Though he is serving his one-game suspension tonight for his stick-swinging incident Monday in Philadelphia, Malkin did take part in the skate. He even took some reps on defense with Schultz.
Sullivan said it doesn't matter what he thinks of Malkin's suspension, but that the Penguins have to live with it. However, it does present an opportunity for other players.
"It's going to be incumbent upon the rest of the guys to step up," he said. "Guys are going to get more of an opportunity to play more significant minutes in key roles and they have to embrace that."
• Though they'll be missing Malkin, the Penguins will be welcoming one forward back to the lineup, kind of an important one, too: Zach Aston-Reese.
Before suffering a broken hand that sidelined him 13 games ago, Aston-Reese seemed to have carved his spot in the lineup. He had two goals and two assists, to go along with the first two fights of his NHL career, in his previous six games. Not coincidentally, the Penguins went 5-8 in his absence.
I asked Aston-Reese about that:
Said Sullivan: "We thinks he's a player that makes us a better team. We understand that he's been out a little while so it may take a little time. He's an important player for us."
• Well, so much for that. After using two defensemen on his top power play unit against the Flyers, Sullivan reunited the No. 1 unit of Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqivst, Letang and Jake Guentzel, who was filling in for Malkin. Hornqvist said Sullivan's message was simple: "Just score goals."
• Bryan Rust and the top line figure to be matched up extensively against Connor McDavid and the Oilers' top line. Rust, who can skate a bit himself, says the key to limiting the NHL's third-leading scorer is to limit his time and space.
"When he doesn't have his speed going, try and play in his face and be right at him so he doesn't get that speed going," he said. "I think the ability to limit that is going to help."
• Paul Coffey, who formerly held the Penguins record for goals by a defenseman, will be in the house tonight. Letang scored his 109th goal -- a short-handed, empty-net tally -- to surpass the Hall of Famer in Philadelphia on Monday night. Letang explained to me what Coffey has meant to his career:
The Penguins plan to acknowledge Letang's accomplishment during the game.
• Coffey wasn't the only Hall of Famer around on Wednesday. Bryan Trottier, who took in the Penguins' Feb. 2 game in Toronto, was in the home dressing room and then was later outside the Oilers room.
• Dominik Simon, who has played the last 22 games but has zero points in the last six, will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Teddy Blueger, who was scratched against the Flyers despite scoring two goals in his first six NHL games, will be back in the lineup.
• Fresh off making a career-high 50 saves against the Flyers, Matt Murray will be in goal. He is 4-0 with a .927 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average in his career against the Oilers, that includes the Penguins' 6-5 OT win at Edmonton on Oct. 23.
THE OTHER SIDE
• Having practiced in full a day earlier, the Oilers held an optional skate in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
• McDavid might be the best player in the game, but there's one area of Sidney Crosby's game that he'd like to incorporate into his own. "For me, it's just how strong he is down low, the lower center of gravity," McDavid said. "Playing against him, he's so strong on his skates, so stocky. He's tough to knock off the puck. It's a great quality to have." The 6-foot-1, 193-pound McDavid said he'll "never be as stocky" as Crosby.
• McDavid is 0-5 against Crosby in his career:
• Though they are 3-5-2 in their last 10, the Oilers are still somehow in the hunt in the Western Conference. Tonight's game is the start of a three-game road trip for the Oilers. That's not a bad thing. They are 12-11-4 when playing outside of Edmonton.
"I wish I had a direct answer for you but if we did, we wouldn't be in the hole we're in right now," Zack Kassian said of his team's road success. "As a group we seem to simplify. At home, we try to put on too much of a show."
• Interim coach Ken Hitchcock has loaded up his top line with McDavid centering Leon Draisaitl and Kassian on the right wing. Kassian is more known for his bruising style of play. In the Oct. 23 game at Rogers Place, Kassian fought now former Penguin Jamie Oleksiak.
"Try not to overdo things, be myself, get in on the forecheck and win puck battles," Kassian said of his role on the line.
• Kyle Brodziak and Brandon Manning will be scratched. Alex Petrovic will be back in the lineup as will Ty Rattie.
• Mikko Koskinen will be in goal for Edmonton. He is 1-0 vs. Pittsburgh in his career. That win came Feb. 11, 2011.
• The Oilers are 0-13-3 vs. the Penguins since January of 2006.
THE SCHEDULE
Faceoff tonight is 8:05 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena to accommodate national TV in both the U.S. and Canada. The Penguins will practice at noon Thursday and 11 a.m. on Friday in Cranberry. The Penguins will have back-to-back home matinee games this weekend against the Flames and Rangers.
THE COVERAGE
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