CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The day after employing 11 different forward combinations in a loss at Detroit, Mike Sullivan mixed up his lines once again during Wednesday's practice. This time they were a little more familiar.
Most notably, Evgeni Malkin was back centering the second line, while Jared McCann -- who enjoyed his most success in his brief Penguins career on the top line -- was once again reunited with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
Whether those will be the lines when the Penguins face the Red Wings on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena, remains to be seen. But the Penguins should hope they work. Tuesday's 4-1 loss at Little Caesars Arena suddenly underscored the importance of Game No. 81. With 97 points, the Penguins trail the second-place Islanders in the Metropolitan Division but are just two points ahead of the Hurricanes for the top wild card spot.
Getting back a healthy Malkin should go a long way toward at least keeping the Penguins away from a first-round matchup against the Capitals. Malkin took some contact in practice on Wednesday and will be a game-time decision, according to Sullivan. In a perfect world, Malkin said that he could use more time to practice, but he doesn't have that luxury with playoff positioning still at stake.
"It's not a (rush) to me, but I want a couple games before the playoffs," Malkin said. "I want my confidence back and the feel of the puck. I hope I wake up tomorrow and feel great."
If he returns, it won't come a moment too soon for the Penguins. Though Malkin's having a relatively down year with 71 points in 66 games, the Penguins' underlying numbers since he took a Robert Bortuzzo crosscheck to the ribs are not pretty:
• In the nine games since, the Penguins -- who average 3.30 goals per game -- have scored just 18 times. That includes even-strength goals by Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel, who ended their lengthy droughts.
• The power play, though still ranked fifth at 24.2 percent, has converted on just two of its last 22 chances.
Individually, the Penguins have gone dry as well. That includes the Crosby line which carried them through a 10-3-3 March.
"I don't know, just the bounces aren't going our way," Guentzel was telling me. "I don't know what it is. Sometimes you go through these stretches where you just have to get to the front of the net and just have to get it some other way."
• Crosby, once third in the league scoring race, has fallen to ninth. He hasn't scored a goal in 10 games, his longest such stretch this season. Though he's playing well in all other areas, Crosby said it's incumbent on him to find the back of the net.
"I try and go out there and get one every night, sometimes it goes in easier than others," he said.
"I think this time of year, you want to find ways to score."
• After Guentzel scored his 36th of the season on March 14, a 40-goal campaign seemed a foregone conclusion. But he's scored just twice in the last nine games and none in the last four. While that hardly qualifies as a "drought," he had scored eight goals in the previous nine games. Could the thought of joining 40-goal club be weighing on Guentzel's mind?
"When you look at our guys, they're all competitive guys," Sullivan was saying when I asked about his leading goal-scorer. "When they have a chance to reach a milestone, they all have a certain pride and take ownership of their own respective games. They'd like to attain those. That's part of what makes them human, but it's also what drives them to be their best. I'm sure Jake has that thought in mind. But as I've said to him on a number of occasions: 'Just focus on playing the game the right way and you'll score.' Because that's what he does."
Guentzel will now have two games to score two goals to become the first Penguins winger to score 40 in a season since James Neal in 2011-12. By placing McCann back on the top line, Guentzel will move over to his off side. But if his recent track record as a right winger is any indication, Guentzel will have a good chance at the milestone. The line of McCann, Crosby and Guentzel was effective before, registering a Corsi For percentage of 51.43 and a high-danger chances percentage of 66.67.
It may have been the best hockey of the 22-year-old McCann's young career:
During a six-game stretch between March 2 and 12, McCann put up four goals and four assists. Obviously, playing with Crosby didn't hurt.
"He's so fast, you just have to keep your feet moving," McCann was saying. "He's a guy that finds you in tight areas, and you have to be ready to shoot at all times."
Bryan Rust, who had been on the top line, will move down to the second line with Malkin and Kessel. Though they've only played 24:23 together this season, they showed some promising signs when together, generating five high-danger chances for and two against. With his play away from the puck, Sullivan said that Rust makes for a good choice to play on Malkin's line.
"He's got a lot of foot speed, he can get in on the forecheck, force turnovers," the coach said. "If they get caught in the offensive zone he can catch the rush usually and help them defensively. He's got a conscientious game away from the puck. So all those attributes have been beneficial to Geno's (line)."
With Malkin's return imminent, that leaves Zach Aston-Reese -- out since March 10 with an upper-body injury -- as the last notable injury the Penguins have up front. When he returns, Sullivan will have one more change to make to the lines. But it would seem, at least, that the top-six is set for the start of the playoffs.
"I feel like we have such a deep team here, we don't really have to have a set lineup," McCann says. "Guys can play with each other. We've had different lineups here in the past and they've been working for us. I feel like whatever lineup we go with, we'll be fine."
• The lines and pairs used Wednesday:
McCann-Crosby-Guentzel
Rust-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Bjugstad-Hornqvist
Blueger-Cullen-Wilson
Maatta-Trotman
J. Johnson-Schultz
Pettersson-Gudbranson
• With Malkin practicing, Teddy Blueger was dropped down to left wing on the fourth line, likely bumping Adam Johnson from the lineup if Malkin returns for the rematch Thursday against the Red Wings.
• The first power play unit reunited Malkin with Crosby, Kessel, Hornqvist and Justin Schultz. The second unit had Nick Bjugstad, who was on the top unit Tuesday in Detroit, back with Dominik Simon, Guentzel and defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Olli Maatta.
• Kris Letang won't play tomorrow night and it remains to be seen if he'll play in Saturday night's regular-season finale either. But he did take the ice in a non-contact sweater, which is an encouraging sign. He reported no problems afterward but added that he's not going to play until he feels 100 percent. If that happens before the start of the playoffs, so be it.
"It doesn't really matter," he said when I'd asked. "I'm going to go out there when I feel I'm ready to go and I'm 100 percent. If I play one, I play one. If I play two, I play two. As long as I'm ready."
Apparently, Letang wasn't completely ready to come back from an upper-body injury which sidelined him 11 games. On Wednesday, Letang confirmed that he didn't feel "comfortable" after returning to the lineup for three games between March 19 and 23. He has since missed the last four games.
• Brian Dumoulin, who missed Tuesday night's game and is day-to-day with a lower body injury, did not practice.
• Chad Ruhwedel and Aston-Reese skated with skills development coach Ty Hennes prior to the start of practice.
