The Penguins had another schedule change Saturday, but this one didn't involve a game being postponed or moved to a new date.
In fact, it didn't involve a game at all.
Not directly, anyway,
Instead, they shifted their practice from the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex to PPG Paints Arena, and for a couple of pretty good reasons.
Their game against Washington there Sunday at 3:08 p.m. will be the Penguins' first at home since Jan. 24, so giving players a refresher course about some of the building's nuances made sense. So did breaking in the sheet of ice on which they play.
"The main reason we skated here today is that we haven't played here in a while, and we thought it would be good for our guys to skate in the game rink," Mike Sullivan said. "But also, to have our team on the ice so we could get an ice cut, and the quality of the ice should improve for tomorrow."
Oh, and there was one other plus to having the players work out at the arena: It made sure they should all be able to remember how to get to the place Sunday after not having made the trip for a while.
Regardless of the reason, the Penguins presumably didn't mind being back in familiar surroundings.
After all, they are 4-0 at home, but just 2-5-1 on the road this season.
Sullivan cautioned against putting too much emphasis on those numbers -- "It's a very small sample size, so I'm not sure you can draw a whole lot of conclusions from it," he said -- but the difference between the Penguins' home and road records is striking.
They join Tampa Bay (6-0), Boston (4-0) and Carolina (3-0) as the only teams with a perfect record on home ice. (The New York Islanders had been 3-0 at Nassau Coliseum before their 4-3 shootout loss to the Penguins there Thursday.)
And while the Penguins hardly have been dominant at PPG Paints Arena -- all of their victories have been by one goal, and two required a shootout -- it's hard to overlook the success they've had there, even if they can't explain why it's happened.
"Maybe just being at home," John Marino said. "You get to sleep in your own bed, little things like that. A little more comfortability."
Whatever the reason, there are plenty of numbers to confirm that the Penguins have done their most productive work in 2020-21 at PPG Paints Arena
Their power play is 3-for-9 at home, a 33.3 percent success rate that is the 10th-best in the NHL for home clubs. And.a whole lot better than their 2-for-28 mark on the road, which works out to a league-worst 7.1 percent conversion rate.
Their penalty-kill also has been more effective at PPG Paints Arena, allowing two goals in 12 shorthanded situations (83.3 percent). On the road, their opponents have scored on nine of 25 power plays, a kill rate of 64 percent.
And while the Penguins have only a modest 14-12 edge in goals-scored at home, they are being outscored, 32-20, in away games.
It's not surprising, then, that the Penguins seem to be more interested in how to turn things around when they are away from PPG Paints Arena than they are in figuring out why their record there is unblemished.
"We need to do better on the road," Jason Zucker said. "That's what it comes down to, really."
MORE FROM THE PRACTICE
• Defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who has missed the past eight games because of an unspecified injury, wore a regular jersey during the workout;. he had been using a no-contact one previously. Although he has not been cleared to play in games, that is another step toward Pettersson's eventual return. "We'll take each day as it comes with Marcus," Sullivan said. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to get him back in the lineup."
• The Penguins devoted part of their 55-minute practice to special-teams work. Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust were on the top power play, while Mike Matheson, Kasperi Kapanen, Mark Jankowski, Marino and Zucker worked the second unit.
• Brandon Tanev, on Crosby's performance as the team leader: "He thinks of everyone else before he puts himself first. That's why he's been such a great captain for so many years, a pillar in the city of Pittsburgh."
• Zucker said Malkin, his center on the No. 2 line, "seems to be playing better and finding his groove," and suggested that he expects the upward trajectory has observed to continue. "When he has confidence, he's arguably one of the best players in the world," Zucker said.
• Per the Capitals, former Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz is expected to be in Washington's lineup Sunday after missing four games because of an unspecified injury. Schultz has two goals and four assists in his first eight games with the Capitals.
• COVID-19 is a deadly serious issue, of course, but Zucker was able to deadpan about one benefit of social-distancing and other pandemic-related regulations imposed by the NHL. "It's helped me a lot, personally, just because I'm farther away from (Rust, his linemate)," he said. "So I don't have to deal with him as much, on a daily basis. So that's, honestly, been the best part. He's miserable to be around in the room."
• Sets of two and four seats, with at least one row between them, appeared to be marked throughout the lower bowl of the arena. Reporters are not allowed on that level of the building, but those markings might indicate that preparations are being made for the time when some fans will be allowed to attend games.