UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- It was, as Mike Sullivan noted, simply an optional game-day skate at Nassau Coliseum Thursday.
That meant there was no reason to read anything into the larger-than-usual turnout of 24 players who went on the ice.
And because Sullivan, as always, declined to reveal any lineup decisions beyond naming his starting goalie -- it will be Casey DeSmith against the New York Islanders tonight at 7:08 -- there's no definitive word on whether Evgeni Malkin will play this evening.
But there's an awful lot of anecdotal evidence that he will be in uniform against the Islanders after leaving practice Wednesday because of an irritation with one of his eyes.
One of 24 guys who took part in the skate, Malkin was among first to come out of the locker room before the skate began.
And when the formal drills concluded, he was part of a large group that remained out there for some extra work.
Given the nature of the problem that led to him leaving practice early and all the time he spent on the ice today, Malkin seems like a pretty good bet to face the Islanders.
Whether he'll be able to build on the even-strength goal he got during a 4-3 loss at the Coliseum last Saturday remains to be seen.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Zach Aston-Reese, who has been recovering from shoulder surgery, was activated from the Long-Term Injured list and seems like a good candidate to reclaim his spot alongside Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev, especially with Jared McCann injured. "They were a real conscientious line, defensively, for us," Sullivan said. "We can play them in a lot of defensive situations. They can play against anyone."
• Sullivan, on his approach to coaching goalies: "It's a unique position. It's really the only position in hockey that has a positional coach with it, so I'm respectful of that relationship. I try not to interfere with that relationship. ... Having said that, I have daily conversations with (goaltending coach Mike Buckley) about how we can best coach those guys. From that, I try to be supportive in any way I can to try to help those guys."
• The Penguins are essentially 20 percent of the way through their 56-game regular season, but Sullivan said that isn't a factor in the team's decision-making about things like an individual's ice time. "We don't really look at it like that, on points of the season," he said. "This is a daily process that we go through. We try to get better every day."