ST. LOUIS -- The Penguins reconfigured their top two lines for what became a 4-1 loss in Nashville Tuesday night.
When they face the Blues tonight at 8:08 at Enterprise Center, it apparently will be the defense corps with a new -- and in one case, old-- look.
During their full-team game-day skate Thursday morning, the pairings had Brian Dumoulin reunited with Kris Letang, Mike Matheson alongside John Marino and Marcus Pettersson deployed with Chad Ruhwedel.
Matheson had been with Letang against the Predators, while Dumoulin partnered with Marino and Pettersson was a healthy scratch.
Mark Friedman, who was on the No. 3 pairing for the past eight games, skated with winger Zach Aston-Reese on a fourth pairing.
Although Mike Sullivan did not commit to using the pairings from the skate this evening, it seems unlikely that he would not at least start the game with them.
He also downplayed the significance of the switches.
"We've moved guys around all year, so I don't know that 'experimenting' is the right word," Sullivan said. "We're trying to put combinations together that give us the balance we need."
Pettersson is back in the mix after being a healthy scratch for the past two games, the first time in his career that he didn't play because of a coach's decision.
"We just want Marcus to play to his strengths," Sullivan said. "He's a good player. He helps us get out of our end. He can make a good outlet pass for us. He defends well with his stick. His reach, his mobility. He's a good two-way defenseman for us."
Ruhwedel has been paired with Matheson for most of the season, but said adjusting to a new partner isn't necessarily a major issue.
"Obviously, more familiarity ... is definitely beneficial," Ruhwedel said. "But we have a great (defense) corps here, so whoever you get put out there with, everybody knows they can do their job."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Tristan Jarry will start in goal.
• Aston-Reese, who missed the game in Nashville Tuesday because of illness, participated in the game-day skate, but will not play against the Blues, Sullivan said.
• Teddy Blueger believes he'll be able to shed the full shield he's been wearing since returning from a broken jaw before "too much longer," but that he's been able to adapt to having it. "It's not bad, unless the puck is really in my feet and I have to look through the little squares (cut out near the bottom)," he said. "Straight ahead, as long as I put my head up, it's not too bad."
• Although Jeff Carter has just one goal in his past 13 games, Sullivan said his value transcends offensive stats. "I think (Carter) has been pretty solid," he said. "He does so many other things, other than score goals for us. He's a big part of the penalty-kill. He takes a lot of (defensive-)zone faceoffs. He's just a good, solid two-way player. ... He's one of those guys who doesn't always have to end up on the scoresheet to make contributions that help us win."
• St. Louis has the third-ranked power play in the league, with a conversion rate of 26.4 percent, so it will be a challenge to the Penguins' penalty-kill, also third in the NHL. "Regardless of who we're up against, it's the same details," Blueger said. "Obviously, we want to pressure, be aggressive as much as we can, trying to get them on the run and not give them time and space to make plays."
• Sullivan noted that St. Louis has the same kind of size as Nashville and that, much like the Predators, plays a heavy game. "They're a physical team," he said. "They're hard on pucks. They play with good structure. They're hard, defensively. It will be a similar-type game."
• The Penguins' forward combinations at the skate were the same as those used against the Predators: Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Evan Rodrigues, Danton Heinen-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust, Radim Zohorna-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen and Brian Boyle-Teddy Blueger-Dominik Simon.
