CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins are inching closer to having a completely healthy roster, save for Jason Zucker.
The four other injured players -- Juuso Riikola, Mark Jankowski, Brian Dumoulin, and Evan Rodrigues -- all practiced Wednesday at the Lemieux Complex in a full capacity.
Riikola has been skating in a full capacity for a week now, and Jankowski's time away from the main group was brief after he was injured five days ago. But for Dumoulin and Rodrigues, this was their first time participating in a full practice since they both sustained lower-body injuries in late January.
"I'm happy to be back," Rodrigues said after practice.
"It feels good to be back with the group," Dumoulin said. "They were on that long road trip, so we didn't get to see much of the team for a week. It was good to see them on the ice, get out there with them."
When the Penguins were on the road in Washington and New York, Dumoulin and Rodrigues skated on their own with skills coach Ty Hennes.
"The skates with Ty, it was just me and Rodrigues," Dumoulin explained. "We didn't have a goalie, we were just shooting on a shooter tutor."
"It was nice having (Dumoulin) to rehab with," Rodrigues said of those skates. "I think we got a lot out of being out there with each other together."
In the time that both Dumoulin and Rodrigues have been out of the lineup, the Penguins have gone 8-6-1.
"I think guys have done a great job of sticking with it and having that next-man-up mentality," Rodrigues said of the team's play in that span. "I'm looking forward to getting back out there and being able to contribute. This is an important month for us, and hopefully we can take advantage of it."
"The team's done really, really well," Dumoulin said. "They've been fighting in every game, every game they're in it and give themselves a chance. They've had some really good comebacks. That's something that in the last few years, games have gotten out of hand a little bit, and it's nice to see us coming back in a lot of games. ... It's something that we had in '16 and '17 when we won both Cups, we were never out of a game. It's really good to see that we have that comeback instinct in this group."
Dumoulin said that the biggest nuance he noticed over the last month or so was the amount of communication that goes on the ice between players and how important it can be, and said that it's something he's still looking to continue to add to his game. Rodrigues noted being able to see the time and space needed to make certain plays from his vantage point.
Mike Sullivan wouldn't say whether any of the injured players would be available for Thursday's game against the Flyers, saying their statuses remain the same at this point. As the Penguins continue to get healthy, it'll create some tough coaching decisions, especially on defense.
"We have a lot of depth," Sullivan said. "We probably have nine or 10 NHL defensemen. From that standpoint, when we do get injured, it gives us an opportunity to put guys in the lineup that have some experience, that have the ability and the capacity to play at this level and have a positive impact on our team. So from that standpoint, it's encouraging. When we have a complete group of healthy players, it presents a difficult challenge. But that's a good challenge to have, I think most coaches would welcome that challenge. It's going to create a real healthy competitive environment."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Sidney Crosby and Todd Reirden were absent from practice after both were placed in COVID protocol Tuesday. Sullivan says with all meetings being held virtually, it's still easy to stay connected.
"He has the capacity to be plugged into all of the video sessions that we're sending to players," Sullivan said. "He has that technology at his disposal."
• None of the taxi squad players participated in the full practice.
• These were the full lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Brandon Tanev-Jared McCann-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Teddy Blueger-Sam Lafferty
Colton Sceviour-Mark Jankowski-Anthony Angello
(Evan Rodrigues, Josh Currie)
Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-John Marino
(All other defensemen rotated)
• There was a meeting at the whiteboard where Mike Vellucci was diagramming a drill with the right circle on the whiteboard circled. Sullivan interjected and noted that "we had a 33 percent conversion rate on scoring chances generated from that area" against the Flyers on Tuesday. The ensuing drill involved 2-on-1s with one of the forwards skating up along the boards with the opposing defenseman making contact.
• After practice, Zucker was officially put on long-term injured reserve retroactive to the date he was injured, Feb. 23.
• Anthony Angello, Josh Currie, and Drew O'Connor were re-assigned to the taxi squad, and Freddy Gaudreau was assigned from the taxi squad to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
• Elsewhere in the league, Dominik Simon was put on waivers. If you need a refresher, he makes the league-minimum $700,000. That's $500,000 less than Colton Sceviour, just for a little context.