CRANBERRY, Pa. -- If 2020-21 was a typical NHL season -- talk about a hypothetical, huh? -- the Penguins would be deep into preparations for Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, dissecting their opponent's tactics and tendencies and formulating a game plan to counter and exploit them.
Well, they'll be doing all of that sometime soon, but when they convened at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex Monday morning, the Penguins still didn't know who they would face in Round 1 -- that will be the Islanders, as was determined later in the night -- or when the series will begin. They were only aware the series will begin at PPG Paints Arena, their most obvious perk for finishing first in the East Division.
So rather than amping up preparations, they had a fairly low-key day, during which players were allowed to choose whether they wanted to work out on or off the ice.
Thirteen skaters and three goalies opted for the former, and that group included all of the skaters -- forwards Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev, Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Mike Matheson -- known to have been nursing significant injuries of late. What's more, No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry and his backup, Casey DeSmith, both of whom also are injured, had an on-ice workout with goalie coach Mike Buckley before the regular practice.
For players trying to come back from injuries, the extra time between the end of the regular season Saturday and the start of the playoffs, which is expected to be this weekend, is a huge plus. And for their teammates, simply getting a little more time than usual to rest and get over some standard-issue bumps and bruises is appreciated.
"Given the circumstance that our team is under and some of the injuries we've endured here down the stretch, to have a little bit of extra time to get ready for Game 1 certainly is beneficial," Mike Sullivan said.
But while the Penguins are, predictably, stressing the benefits of going about a week without a game, Sullivan acknowledged that there is a potential downside, too. Whatever momentum a team might have had at the end of the regular season will have dissipated before it gets into postseason play, and players could get stale during a long layoff.
"We're going to do everything in our power to try to make sure we mitigate that risk," Sullivan said, noting that the Penguins' practice regimen this week will include some scrimmaging to simulate game conditions. We're going to make sure we stay plugged in here," he said. "We've put a game plan together, the coaching staff, for how to approach this week, with the ability to adjust, depending on when the start date is going to be."
The only thing of which the Penguins can be sure is that they will have the first two games at home, after claiming a division title for the first time in seven years. That didn't happen by accident, but it wasn't an objective on which they had focused for most of the season, either, perhaps because they were too busy seeing which of their teammates might not be healthy enough to play in a given game.
"It was never easy the whole season," Brian Dumoulin said. "We had a lot of ups and downs. Especially in the beginning, we had a lot of injuries. Winning the division isn't something we really talked about as a group."
OK, so the Penguins didn't talk much about winning the East. They just went out and did it, even though there were nights when they had more bodies in the medical room than there were in the seats.
"The adversities that we've faced throughout the course of the year certainly helps to galvanize the group," Sullivan said. "We certainly had a lot to rally around this year, whether it be from injuries or things of that nature, and guys stepped up. They found ways to help the team win."
The next challenge will be to earn some playoff victories, which have been pretty rare in recent years. The Penguins have lost nine of their past 10 postseason games and, if that trend persists, finishing first in the East will seem like a pretty hollow accomplishment.
"We're certainly not satisfied with where we're at," Sullivan said. "We know we have a lot of work ahead of us."
The Penguins just don't know yet when it will begin. Or who it will be against.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Matheson, who missed the final four games of the regular season after being struck in the face by a puck, wore a full face shield while skating.
• Guentzel, on Bryan Rust: "He's huge to our line and our team. He's just a really good 200-foot player. He might be under-appreciated around the hockey world. ... He's a guy we're definitely lucky to have, on both ends of the ice."
• Sullivan, on Kasperi Kapanen's season: "(Kapanen) has fit in real well. I think his teammates really like him. He's a fun guy. He's a fun guy to be around. He brings a lot of energy in the locker room. ... We're real happy with how (Kapanen) has assimilated into the group here."