CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Tristan Jarry was absent from the Penguins' practice at the Lemieux Complex on Wednesday before the team heads to Boston for a two-game series against the Bruins.
Mike Sullivan said after practice that Jarry was day-to-day with an unspecified upper-body injury and didn't skate at any point during the day.
It's not clear how Jarry sustained the injury. He played the full first period of Monday's game against the Islanders, then didn't take the ice for the second period.
If Jarry misses any time, players are confident with Casey DeSmith in net for the time being with how well he's been playing.
"The two have been seamless regardless of who is playing," Mike Matheson said of the Penguins' goaltenders. "For us, it hasn't been much of a difference at all. Both guys have been doing a great job of playing the puck, taking the angle away and not giving up any big rebounds for us to worry about. They've both been playing great. ... Regardless of who is in, we feel great about it."
Sullivan said that he believes that in today's game, having two capable goaltenders the way the Penguins do isn't a luxury, it's a requirement.
"There aren't too many teams that have one goalie go wire-to-wire," Sullivan said. "This year in particular, it might even be more important with the condensed schedule. To have two guys that we know we can put in the net and we feel really confident that they're going to make the timely saves for us that's going to give us the opportunity to win games, that's a good feeling to have as a coach, that's a good feeling to have as a team. These guys have done a great job for us when they've been between the pipes, regardless of which guys is in there.
"We look at Casey right now," Sullivan added. "Casey's had a real solid year for us. When he's been asked to go in the net, he's done a great job for us. He's won a significant amount of games for us, and we have the utmost confidence in him. It's an important position, to have two guys that can share the load in this unique circumstance really gives our team a competitive advantage."
The Penguins do have a set of back-to-back games on the road trip next week, first against the Rangers on Thursday then against the Devils the following day. If Jarry does still happen to be out at that point, it seems likely that Max Lagace would get a shot in goal for one of the two games.
Lagace practiced with the main group on Wednesday in Jarry's absence.
Lagace, 28, was a free agent signing by the Penguins in the offseason and has split the year so far between the taxi squad and Wilkes-Barre. He's appeared in six games in Wilkes-Barre, posting a 1.98 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.
I asked Wilkes-Barre head coach J.D. Forrest about Lagace's play after Sunday's game.
"Max has been great for us every time he's been between the pipes," Forrest said. "Our guys definitely have a high level of confidence with him in the net. He shows that calmness to him, he's got confidence. It permeates throughout the lineup. He's been nice to have."
Whoever is in net, the defense continuing to play well and provide support will be essential.
"I think we've been doing a good job of getting the pucks out of our zone, and our breakouts and neutral-zone regroups." Matheson said. "I don't think there's a team in the league, especially in our division, that doesn't do a good job of preying on turnovers. So that's been a huge plus for us. Our box-outs have been a lot better, and our physicality in front of our own net. When there are shots coming in, our goalies are able to see them and do a good job of swallowing up any rebounds. If there are any rebounds, we do a good job of taking sticks and making sure the goalie has time to cover up that rebound."
The Penguins have now had injuries to all three position groups throughout the season. The defensemen were hit hard early in the season, and the forwards have taken a couple of hits lately. As the forward group is starting to get healthy, the starting goaltender goes down. The injuries have been creating opportunities for other players all season, and those players keeping their confidence has been key.
"When guys go down, it's important to be able to step up," Matheson said. "But at the same time, I think every guy that's here is here for a reason. On a personal level I think it's important for each guy to realize that. When you do get your chance to come into the lineup, to know that for example, Geno's been out. Nobody is going to replace Geno. He's his own player. But there's guys that are their own player, and have made it to this level for a reason. So sticking to that and having that confidence is really important when you step up into a new role."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Brandon Tanev and Teddy Blueger practiced with the group. Tanev was a full participant and skated on the third line and worked with the penalty kill, and Blueger participated in a non-contact fashion and didn't take line rushes. Blueger also skated with the taxi squad before practice.
When Tanev is cleared to play, Sullivan doesn't feel any need to ease him back into the lineup.
"I think we just throw him in and let him go," Sullivan said. "He hasn't been out too long here. When he is cleared to play and we put him back into the lineup, I think he's a guy that has to play the game with a certain reckless abandon. That's what makes him what he is, that's the value that he brings to the team. That's his competitive advantage."
• Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen haven't skated yet and continue to work on their off-ice rehab.
• Mark Friedman skated with the taxi squad and is "continuing to make progress."
• The Penguins used the following line combinations and pairings in practice:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Brian Rust
Jason Zucker-Jared McCann-Evan Rodrigues
Zach Aston-Reese-Freddy Gaudreau-Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty-Mark Jankowski-Anthony Angello
(Colton Sceviour and the fourth-line wingers all rotated)
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Juuso Riikola-Chad Ruhwedel
• The top power play was Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Jared McCann and Kris Letang.
• The second power play was Matheson, John Marino, Jason Zucker, Evan Rodrigues, and Anthony Angello.
• Brian Dumoulin is the new mustache boy. More on that here.
• This afternoon the Penguins re-assigned Drew O'Connor to Wilkes-Barre. He played one game while on his recall. To replace him on the taxi squad the Penguins re-assigned Justin Almeida to the group from Wilkes-Barre. Almeida being the player to come up suggests that the move was just to meet the minimum of four players on the taxi squad. Almeida has been a healthy scratch for a couple of games in Wilkes-Barre, and with Wilkes-Barre having a game on Wednesday, it makes sense to assign O'Connor to the AHL and replace him on the taxi squad with a player who wouldn't have been in Wilkes-Barre's lineup anyway.
