CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Right off the "faceoff," Matt Cullen cleaned Sidney Crosby, dropping the puck to Tanner Pearson, who "wired" a shot top glove side past Matt Murray.
Had it been an actual game, it would have been Pearson's second goal in the last 13 games. Instead it came during Friday's practice at the Lemieux Sports Complex and it was at three-quarters speed, at best.
It also might be Pearson's last goal for a while.
If the lines shown during Friday's practice hold up for tomorrow's game against the Flames, Pearson will be a healthy scratch for the first time during his 41-game Pittsburgh tenure. Obviously, it's a disappointment but hardly a surprise to Pearson, who was acquired Nov. 14 from the Kings in exchange for Carl Hagelin.
"It's one of those things that happens in this game if you're not consistent enough," Pearson was telling me. "I've been kind of here and there. And that's what happens."
With Evgeni Malkin coming off suspension and Zach Aston-Reese back from injury, the Penguins now have 14 forwards available for 12 spots. Pearson appears to be the odd-man out along with Dominik Simon, who was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in Wednesday night's win over the Oilers.
Though Pearson has a first-round pedigree and a Stanley Cup ring won in 2014 with L.A., Mike Sullivan said that experience is not one of the criteria he uses in weighing his lineup decisions. To wit, Friday's lines included Teddy Blueger, Garrett Wilson and Aston-Reese. The aforementioned trio has played 266 fewer games and scored 64 fewer goals combined than Pearson.
"We're going to put players in the lineup who we think will play well and help us win and bring a certain dimension to the team that helps us win," the coach explained. "That's the dialogue we have as a coaching staff. That's how I frame the discussions when we make those kinds of decisions. That, quite honestly, is how we go about our business."
As he was with the Kings, Pearson has been a notoriously streaky goal scorer since coming to the Penguins. He went 26 games without a goal for the Kings, including the first 17 games this season, before being shipped to Pittsburgh. Playing on the second line with Malkin, Pearson got off to a good start with his new team, scoring three goals in his first six games. He then went the month of December with just one goal, a highlight reel tally against the Kings. He then scored in back-to-back games on Jan. 8 and 11, but has scored just once since.
But, obviously, it's more than just a lack of production that's keeping Pearson out of the lineup. If it were just that, Patric Hornqvist, no goals in a dozen games, might also be a consideration. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Pearson told me that he's got to get back to his game, and that means being harder to play against.
"When you look at my game, it's been going in on the forecheck and winning wall battles, especially in our end and getting pucks out quickly, as quick as they come in," he was saying. "There's little things like that that I need to focus on and the results will come."
If he is indeed scratched, it will not be the first time it's happened in his six-year NHL career. He says it happened to him while with the Kings with "20-some" games left in the season "a few years ago." He said he took it as message from Kings coach Darryl Sutter and responded positively over the remainder of the season.
"It happens, but you can't look at it in a negative way," said Pearson, who has averaged 80.3 games per season since 2015-16. "You've got to keep working hard, keep focusing on what you can get better at. When you get the opportunity again and if it happens, put a whole lot of effort in."
• Justin Schultz was activated off IR after taking full reps on Friday. He will be a game-time decision, according to Sullivan. If he plays, it'll be his first game action since fracturing his leg Oct. 13 at Montreal.
• Here were the full new-look lines and pairs:
Guentzel -- Crosby -- Rust
Kessel -- Malkin -- Bjugstad
Blueger -- McCann -- Hornqvist
Wilson -- Cullen -- Aston-Reese
Dumoulin -- Letang
Johnson -- Schultz
Pettersson -- Ruhwedel
• Simon took some reps on the first line while Pearson did with the fourth.
• With Schultz back, it would appear that Jusso Riikola will be the odd-man out on defense. He had played the past 10 straight games, providing one goal and one assist. Chad Ruhwedel will likely be in the lineup for a second straight game after being a healthy scratch since Nov. 19.
• With Evgeni Malkin coming off his one-game suspension for a stick-swinging incident against Philadelphia's Michael Raffl, the first power play unit showed its vintage look with Malkin joined by Crosby, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang and Hornqvist.
• Schultz took all reps with the second power play unit. He was manning the point along with Marcus Pettersson. Up front had Jake Guentzel and Nick Bjugstad with Aston-Reese.
• The Penguins are giving up 33.4 shots against per game, fourth-most in the NHL. They have been out-shot eight games in a row but still went 4-3-1. Included in that span was last Monday's win in Philadelphia where the Flyers held a 51-28 edge in shots. Matt Murray established a career high for saves in that game but most were from the perimeter. Sullivan isn't distressed by the sheer volume but he does believe it's an indication of where the game is being played. That, he says, needs to change.
"We're defending hard but we're defending too much," he said. "We need to have the puck more. We need to control territory. If we do that, we'll get more consistent results."
• Saturday's 1 p.m. game is one of two matinees the Penguins will play this weekend. The Penguins will also host the Rangers at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. For some players, day games can take them out of their standard routine of morning skate, lunch, nap, game. Not Jack Johnson. If he had his choice, he'd play all 82 games in the day.
"Love them, get up and go play," he was telling me. "I think it's fun. You come out of the rink and it's not late at night. You go home and get home in time for dinner and spend time with family and get to bed at a good time."
• With the Pacific Division-leading Flames practicing Friday in Cranberry, it brought a large contingent of Canadian media to the Penguins' practice as well. This amused Bjugstad, who came over earlier this month from the Panthers. He said more media covered his games while playing at the University of Minnesota than they did in South Florida.
• With tomorrow being a day game, the Penguins won't hold a morning skate. Sullivan will address the media at 11 a.m.