SUNRISE, Fla. -- Mike Sullivan didn't have an official answer yet when I asked after Wednesday's practice whether Jake Guentzel would be available for Thursday's game against the Panthers.
"We certainly want to put these guys in positions to be successful," he said. "We'll communicate individually with (both Guentzel and Zach Aston-Reese), we want to make sure they're prepared to play."
Indications from personnel groups at practice, though, are that he's ready.
Guentzel skated alongside his preseason linemates Jeff Carter and Bryan Rust for the duration of the five-on-five drills. Drew O'Connor didn't participate in any of the five-on-five drills, an indication that Guentzel is ready and O'Connor is the odd-man out. Guentzel also worked with the top power play unit -- joining Carter, Rust, Kasperi Kapanen and Kris Letang -- for the duration of the special teams work, another strong sign that he'll play on Thursday.
"I feel good," Guentzel said after practice. "Yeah, it was a long, long couple of days there, but I'm just glad to be back and be around the guys again."
Though Guentzel tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 3, six days after Aston-Reese tested positive, Guentzel's return to game-shape was a much shorter process than the case of Aston-Reese because Guentzel didn't suffer any symptoms while he was sick, and Aston-Reese did.
"They're two very different circumstances given the nature of each experience," Sullivan said.
Guentzel's isolation period was brief, but he called it "mentally tough."
"I mean, you're just isolated," he said. "You're just away from everyone, away from the wife and stuff like that, too. You're on your own, but I'm just glad it's over with and be glad to be back here."
When Rust spoke after a practice last week while Guentzel was still in isolation, Rust said that the two had been talking and it seemed like Guentzel was starting to get bored. I asked Guentzel Wednesday what he did to pass the time.
"I started doing some puzzles and trying to read a little bit," he said. "I read a couple of sports books and was working on 1000-piece puzzle, that's what kept my time busy for the time being."
In between the puzzles and reading a biography about Tiger Woods, Guentzel was still able to stay in shape while at home, in particular with his Peloton bike.
"I was fortunate for that," he said. "I got to do that and at least stay active as much as I could, try not to lose as much as over the 10-day period there."
If the indications from practice prove to be correct and Guentzel does get into the lineup as early as Thursday, the Penguins will be fortunate to have him back.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Aston-Reese and Sidney Crosby also participated in practice, but didn't take any line rushes. Crosby also skated for about an hour before practice with Ty Hennes.
• Mike Matheson, who left Tuesday's morning skate with what Sullivan called a "lower-body issue," didn't practice on Wednesday
• Before practice, the Penguins recalled P.O Joseph from Wilkes-Barre and re-assigned Anthony Angello to clear a roster spot. Joseph participated in the practice.
• The lines and pairings were as follows:
Jake Guentzel - Jeff Carter - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evan Rodrigues - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Teddy Blueger - Danton Heinen
Sam Lafferty - Brian Boyle - Dominik Simon
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mark Friedman/P.O Joseph/Chad Ruhwedel rotating, with Joseph skating only on the left, Ruhwedel skating only on the right, and Friedman taking turns on either side
• The second power play unit was Marcus Pettersson, John Marino, Evan Rodrigues, Dominik Simon, Jason Zucker
• It was a fast, intense practice, in part because the Penguins don't plan on having a morning skate tomorrow.
• It was still a light practice in terms of mood, though. Lots of smiles. At one point Rust wiped out in the corner and stayed flat on his back laughing while teammates gave him stick taps, and Zucker rushed to his side to pretend to do chest compressions.
• As I mentioned in the game story, Mark Friedman was one of the standouts, specifically for his aggressiveness and ability to contribute offensively. What led to that?
"Confidence," he said. "I felt really confident out there last night. The puck was finding me and guys were doing a good job getting me the puck as well. When I'm skating, I feel like I get the puck more on my stick when I'm creating more with my feet, so that definitely helps for my game. Getting up into the play as you saw there, I created a two-on-one and then there was another play there in the third period when I just took the puck in the slot and had a scoring chance. When I'm moving my feet that's when I'm at my best."
This was the second of the two plays Friedman mentioned:
Friedman mentioned that in circumstances like that in the offensive zone, it helps playing on the left side -- his off side -- because his stick is facing straight up the middle, rather than the boards.
• Earlier in the week Friedman was fined $1,812.50 for this spear on Sean Kuraly in the preseason finale:
"It was a stupid play on my part," he said Wednesday. "I'm not going to get into any details about it. But I've definitely learned, it was my first time doing anything along those lines and I'll definitely never do anything like that again."
• Despite such a complete 6-2 win over the defending champs in the opener, Teddy Blueger acknowledged that "there's no perfect game, there's always things you can get better on, there's always mistakes."
One of those points of emphasis from the coaching staff was five-on-six play, when the opponent has the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker. The Penguins scored three empty-net goals that way Tuesday, but also allowed two goals.
"The six-on-five wasn't great, giving up the two goals there," Blueger said. "You know, it's still early and we haven't had a lot of time to practice it really, so far haven't really had those situations in a game. So that's something for sure we're working on moving forward and something we addressed today."
Sullivan said that the Penguins could stand to get "a lot better" at playing in those situations.
"That was one of the things we did talk about with the game film this morning, before we came to the rink," Sullivan said. "We can certainly defend better as a group of five and understanding what the rotations are and what everybody's responsibilities are. ... They can score a number of goals in a short period of time, they have that capability. We've got to make sure that we stay vigilant in those circumstances."
