ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mike Sullivan made the obvious, official after the Penguins' optional game-day skate at Xcel Energy Center, confirming that Jason Zucker will rejoin the lineup tonight after sitting out 37 of the past 38 games while recovering from a core-muscle injury that had to be surgically repaired.
What Sullivan couldn't say is how long it will take Zucker to return to his customary form, although it figures to be a bit longer than Zucker's optimistic suggestion of "hopefully, a shift."
"It's tough to say," Sullivan said. "Every player is a little bit different. There's always an adjustment process. That is my experience. We'll communicate with him, as far as how we utilize him. If we have to manage his minutes or not, we'll see how that goes."
He added that, "It's not easy to simulate the intensity of NHL competition. The only way you get that is by playing ... I'm sure there will be an adjustment process, but we're hoping he'll capture his very best game in a hurry."
Zucker, it should be noted, acknowledged that he likely will need a little time to get acclimated to the pace and intensity of play.
"Especially now, it's playoff hockey," he said, adding that "it's going to be a work-in-progress, for sure, but I'll be working with the coaches and linemates, whoever I'm playing with, and try to make that as quick as possible."
Zucker, who is expected to be at left wing on the No. 2 line with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell when the Penguins face the Wild at 8:08 p.m., has six goals and seven assists in 31 appearances this season. Two of those goals came in Vegas Jan. 17, his only game action after his initial injury.
And while it probably isn't realistic to count on him for that kind of production he had against the Golden Knights on a regular basis, Sullivan believes he can be a significant force during the stretch drive and playoffs.
"(Zucker) can be invaluable to our team," he said. "He's just a good player on both sides of the puck. He makes us harder to play against. He's a gritty guy. He's good in the battle areas. He's hard in the net-front. He's an important player for us. To get him back in the lineup, I think he makes us a better team, in so many different ways."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• In something of a surprise, Sullivan said that Casey DeSmith, not Tristan Jarry, will start in goal tonight. Cam Talbot, not Marc-Andre Fleury, will be in goal for the Wild.
• This game will be Zucker's first in Minnesota since the Penguins acquired him from the Wild, and he noted that his former team has undergone some extensive personnel changes since he left. "Obviously, (GM) Billy Guerin came in and had a different vision," he said. "He's put that to work pretty quickly. It's good to see them having success. I'm rooting for all of those guys and everybody that, obviously, I played with. They're aren't too many of them."
• Participants in the optional skate: Mark Friedman, Radim Zohorna, Marcus Pettersson, Anthony Angello, Chad Ruhwedel, Teddy Blueger, Brian Boyle, DeSmith, Jarry and Zucker.
• The Rangers' forecheck gave the Penguins fits Tuesday, and they'll face a similarly effective one from Minnesota. "They've got a heavy forecheck," Sullivan said. "We've got a big challenge tonight in trying to handle that forecheck and getting out of our end."
• Because the skate was an optional, there were no personnel combinations of consequence.