CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jason Zucker returned to practice with the Penguins Sunday, and it didn't exactly go unnoticed.
Hey, it would be pretty tough to overlook a guy who skates on the second line and works on the No. 2 power play.
Especially when he hasn't played in 18 games.
But while Zucker got through the workout at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex with no apparent problem -- "I feel good," he said -- it isn't clear when he will rejoin the lineup.
The Penguins' next game is Monday, against the New York Islanders at 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, and general manager Ron Hextall could remove Zucker from the Long-Term Injured list in time to dress for that one.
There is, however, no indication at this point that that is the team's plan, and Mike Sullivan did not respond to a direct question about whether Zucker is a viable candidate to play against New York.
But he also left no doubt that the Penguins are eager to get Zucker back.
"He's an important part of this team," Sullivan said. "We're certainly a better team when he's in our lineup. ... He can help us in so many different ways. He's a gritty player. He goes to the battle areas. He's good in traffic. He's got a skill level. He can score goals. He can help us on the power play. He brings a speed dimension to his game."
He added that "the fact he practiced in a full capacity today suggests that he's a whole lot closer to returning to the lineup."
Zucker was injured in a rather unusual run-in with Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen Feb. 23 at Washington.
"It was kind of a weird play," Zucker said. "I went out to try to block a shot. When Jensen shot it, my right skate ended up clipping his. It kind of spun me a little bit weird, and I kind of went into the boards awkwardly.
"It was just a weird situation that, honestly, was unavoidable. After I clipped his skate, it just threw me a little bit off and I wasn't able to catch myself. I think that if I wasn't against the boards, it probably would have eliminated the situation, but that's just the way it goes."
Zucker acknowledged Sunday that he initially feared he might miss considerably more time than he apparently will -- "It's definitely a lot quicker than I expected," he said -- and his happiness at taking part in a regular practice for the first time in more than a month was obvious, even though he refrained from saying when he expects to be back in uniform.
"It was great to be out there," he said. "It's been a little while. ... This was a good step in the right direction, to be back with the guys. Being able to take some contact and just be a part of the overall flow of the practice. I thought that was a good next step, and we'll just keep taking it from here."
Despite playing without their top three left-handed defensemen in the early stages of the season and a handful of key forwards like Zucker of late, the Penguins are just four points behind first-place Washington and could tie the Islanders for second with a victory in regulation Monday.
A lot of factors, tangible and otherwise, have contributed to their ability to overcome waves of adversity, one of which is getting contributions from some players who were long shots to even get a shift in the NHL this season.
The Penguins already have used 19 forwards and 12 defensemen, and Hextall volunteered that he didn't know much about some of them when he took over as GM. Frederick Gaudreau and Radim Zohorna, both of whom earned a lot of attention recently, were prominent on that list.
"We've had guys step up, and that's a really good sign," Hextall said Saturday. "Freddy Gaudreau and Zohorna, these guys (are) stepping up for us. ... Those two guys, I'm not going to profess that I knew a lot about them. (Assistant GM Patrik Allvin) has been talking about Zohorna since I've been there. We all went down and watched a game in Wilkes(-Barre) and Zohorna played pretty well. The coaches know him from training camp."
Zohorna was less visible during the Penguins' 6-3 victory over the Islanders Saturday than he had been in his NHL debut two nights earlier, so it remains to be seen whether he'll be able to hold onto his place in the lineup, especially if injured forwards begin to come back.
I"The first game, a lot of times, it can go one way or the other," Hextall said. "You have a lot of juice and you play really well, or you're so nervous that you don't play very well. I thought, in limited minutes, that he played pretty well the other night. But that sample size is extremely small."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Sullivan, on Sidney Crosby's work behind the opponent's net: "I don't know that there's a better player who's ever played this game than Sid, in his ability to create offense from below the goal line."
• Center Mark Jankowski returned to practice, a day after he and winger Brandon Tanev were placed on the NHL's COVID-19 quarantine list. Tanev, who is injured, also was removed from the list.
• Sullivan said center Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the past six games because of an unspecified lower-body injury, is not back on skates yet, focusing on off-ice rehabilitation. Injured center Teddy Blueger and Tanev skated with skills coach Ty Hennes before practice, while defenseman Mark Friedman worked out with the taxi squad.
• Jake Guentzel, on facing the Islanders for the final time in the regular season Monday: "We know they're going to be at their best tomorrow. We've had some good games against them this year." The Penguins lead the season series, 5-2.
