When Brian Boyle was absent from Thursday's practice in Cranberry, Mike Sullivan said that Boyle was dealing with "nagging lower-body stuff."
He called his absence a maintenance day, with the disclaimer that Boyle's status could change moving forward.
Following the optional morning skate ahead of the Penguins' meeting with the Sabres at PPG Paints Arena on Friday, Sullivan provided an update on Boyle.
Boyle will be unavailable for Friday's game, and is currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
With Boyle out of the lineup, Sam Lafferty is slated to return to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 1, slotting in as fourth-line center between Drew O'Connor and Dominik Simon.
Lafferty, 26, has only skated in seven games this season for the Penguins, recording one assist, 24 hits, an average time on ice of 9:01, and a 42.9 faceoff win percentage. Sullivan said Friday that he thinks that Lafferty has handled the challenge of not being a regular in the lineup "very well."
"I think Sam is a really good pro," Sullivan said. "Him and I have had a number of conversations over our time here, when he is out of the lineup how he can just stay ready and control those things that are within his control. Then he has to trust that the coaching staff is going to do our very best to help him along the way."
With Lafferty finding his way back into the lineup, Sullivan is expecting him to bring a "certain dimension" to the roster
"He brings a ton of speed, he brings in a level of physicality," Sullivan said. "And he's a guy that can really shoot the puck. We can use him on the penalty kill. So he brings those different aspects to the game when we do have him in the lineup, but for me his his speed and his physicality is something that I think separates him from some others. When he brings that he's a very effective player."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• It was an optional skate. Participants were Tristan Jarry, Casey DeSmith, Lafferty, Simon, O'Connor, Danton Heinen, Mark Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel, Mike Matheson, Zach Aston-Reese, Marcus Pettersson, Teddy Blueger, Evgeni Malkin (non-contact).
• Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust again skated on their own before the skate.
• Jarry will start.
• Malcolm Subban will start for the Sabres.
• The Sabres come into this game on a two-game winning streak, only the second time all season that they've won consecutive games. They rank sixth in the Atlantic Division, and are missing several players to injury, including goaltenders Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski, forwards Alex Tuch, Casey Mittelstadt, and Drake Caggiula, and defenseman Robert Hagg.
Sullivan said that he thinks the Sabres are coming off of a "really strong game" after their 3-2 shootout win over the Wild on Thursday.
"They're a dangerous team off the rush," he said. "I think some of their young players are taking another step forward in their evolution as players. Guys like Tage Thompson and (Rasmus) Dahlin and these guys are really turning into really solid hockey players. And they're a team that plays with a free spirit. Give Donnie Granato a lot of credit, I think he's done a really good job at giving them an opportunity to trust their instincts, but also implementing a sufficient structure. They're a team that's not easy to play against."
• Sabres defenseman Casey Fitzgerald, son of former Penguins assistant general manager and current Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, will make his NHL debut.
• Robert Morris University reinstated its Division 1 men's and women's hockey programs for the 2023-24 season. Sullivan was pleased to see Division 1 college hockey return to the Pittsburgh area.
"I think it's terrific," he said. "Division 1 college hockey is a great experience, on the men's side and the women's side. I can speak from my experience. My college experience at Boston University, it's four of the best years that I've had as a hockey player. So for young men and women to have an opportunity to go to Robert Morris and have a similar experience, for me I think is a win-win."
Sullivan also said that he believes Pittsburgh is establishing itself as a hockey market.
"There are more and more players emerging from the Pittsburgh area to play at high levels of the game," Sullivan said. "Whether it be Division I college, or from the women's side some of the national teams, or from the men's side, there are there are players playing in the NHL right now. JT Miller, for example, or Brandon Saad, (Vince) Trocheck, those are some guys that come to mind that are from this area. So the more I think we can check the boxes of some of the different levels of the game being played in the Pittsburgh area, I just think it's going to help more kids get excited about the sport."