DETROIT -- Sam Poulin wasn't even supposed to be in the lineup tonight.
Poulin looked to be the odd man out based on the line combinations used in Monday's morning skate. He had just returned to the team after a couple of days away attending to personal matters. With Jeff Carter and Teddy Blueger still injured, Radim Zohorna centered Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen on the third line, and Ryan Poehling centered Brock McGinn and Josh Archibald on the fourth line. Poulin rotated in on the fourth line. He went about his normal gameday routine as the day went on, trying to stay ready in case a spot happened to open up in the lineup that night.
A spot opened up.
The Flames claimed Zohorna off waivers ahead of Monday's 2 p.m. deadline, clearing the way for Poulin to enter the lineup. Poehling shifted up to third-line center and Poulin centered the fourth line in the Penguins' 3-2 win over the Red Wings in their penultimate game of the preseason here in Detroit.
The Penguins didn't plan on Poulin getting into Monday's game. But it's hard to ignore the fact that Poulin didn't exactly look out of place in the role.
Poulin played 9:26 in the win. It was evident that he's strong on his feet, one of the reasons the coaching staff likes him as a center, because it helps him protect the puck better. He was pretty good in the faceoff circle, going 4-for-6. His two hits were tied for the most on the team, and he had a key blocked shot that led to a scoring chance in the other direction. He picked up a secondary assist on Archibald's goal in the second period, and he was more instrumental to that goal happening than the stat sheet would suggest.
Poulin carried the puck into the offensive zone and took a shot that was blocked. After Jan Rutta chipped the loose puck back down low, Poulin beat Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson to the puck to maintain possession and get it to McGinn. McGinn then set up Archibald for the goal:
"I think I played a pretty simple game," Poulin told me of his performance afterward. "I didn't want to overcomplicate it. Playing on the fourth line, you can't really do any turnovers, that stuff. I'm pretty happy about the way things went."
His coach was, too.
"I thought Sam had a great game for us," Sullivan said, "I thought he played with a lot of energy. He had the puck, he was willing to shoot the puck. I thought he was assertive. He played with a lot of confidence. I thought he had a real good game."
This was Poulin's second preseason game this year, having played in the first split-squad game against Columbus to open the exhibition season. The Penguins' lineup in that game was dominated by players who had spent time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season, and Poulin centered a line with Filip Hallander and Kyle Olson, two players he was familiar with from last season. Their opponent that game was a pretty AHL-heavy Blue Jackets squad as well.
This one was different. This was as close to a dress rehearsal as the Penguins can get right now given the healthy players they have, and the Red Wings dressed a team full of NHL-caliber players too. It meant something that Poulin was able to fit in and hold his own with this level of talent.
I asked Poulin after the game if he thinks this showed that he can play at this level.
"Sure," he said. "I've grown my game a lot in the last year. It's always fun to be with this group. Hopefully I can keep going."
A lot of that growth stemmed from Poulin's move from wing to center. He had played both positions in junior hockey in the QMJHL, but started his professional career in Wilkes-Barre as a wing. Coach J.D. Forrest told me at the time that the shift was less about them seeing Poulin as a permanent center, but rather them wanting to speed up his development. He was struggling with his decision-making, and centers just have to touch the puck more than wings. It was aimed at being a crash-course in decision-making for him to help him adjust to the professional game. Once he did make the move to center, though, they realized that he was just much better suited to be there. They liked the strength he brought down low, and his playmaking abilities.
Poulin hasn't played wing since that shift mid-season. But the lessons he learned at center when it came to making better decisions with the puck have him confident that he could fare well at wing too if that's where he's ever needed.
"I think it's an asset of mine to be pretty versatile," he said. "If they want me to play center, I'll play center. If they want me to play wing, I'll play wing. I know I can play both. It's just a matter of what kind of player they need and where they want me to play."
As things currently stand, the door keeps creeping more and more open for Poulin to break in as a center. Zohorna is gone. Drew O'Connor is capable of playing both wing and center, but Sullivan was pretty clear earlier in camp that the coaching staff prefers O'Connor at wing. If anyone is going to get a call up to play center, it's going to be Poulin.
Poulin said that there hasn't really been a specific message from the coaching staff about what he needs to do in order to get that call to the NHL. That's because there really isn't anything that his game is missing right now in order to have success in a bottom-six role like that. He can use his 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame to be physical and add some energy, be responsible defensively and protect the puck, while chipping in offensively when he gets the chance. He's on the path he needs to be on in order to be successful at the NHL level.
"They want me to play my game," he said. "There's probably a reason why I'm here. They like the way I play. I won't change anything about my game."
He doesn't need to. He's ready to play at this level, and it's only a matter of time before there's a spot for him in a real, regular-season game.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Local product Bryan Rust opened the scoring on the power play:
• Jason Zucker got the Penguin's third goal (and eventual game-winner) with this redirect on the power play, making the power play go a perfect 2-for-2 in this one:
• Casey DeSmith was sharp and made 37 saves on 39 shots. His best moment came with just over a minute left in the game, when he made a flurry of saves to keep Detroit from tying the game up:
I asked DeSmith about that series of saves afterward.
"I made the three saves and then after that I just laid there because I didn't know where the puck was. At that point you just hope that it's under you somewhere. I don't think it was but the ref bailed me out. That was a scary, scary moment there. I didn't want to give up that third one and go to overtime."
• With Ty Smith continuing to slot in on the third pairing with Rutta and P.O Joseph watching from the press box, it's looking more and more like these will be the defense pairings to start the season. I asked Sullivan for his thoughts on Smith-Rutta as a pairing.
"I thought they had moments where they were good and they had moments where they weren't so good," he said. "You could probably say that about all of our guys. I just think that's the nature of the game at this time of year, we've got to get better. We're just going to continue to watch here throughout the rest of the camp. I'm reluctant to assess anything at this point. I'm trying to reserve judgment just to try to get as big of a picture as we can just by watching these guys play."
With one preseason game remaining, I'd like to see Joseph get in and play with Rutta just to see how they look together.
• Pretty heavy scouting presence at this one. The Predators, Oilers, Hurricanes, Stars, Kings, Canadiens, Ducks, Jets, Rangers, Avalanche, Panthers and Lightning all had representatives here tonight.
• This is without a doubt my favorite road building that I've been to. A lot of new buildings don't have a ton of character, but this one definitely does. It's beautiful outside and in the concourses, and they did a great job of making it feel like an older building and incorporating the history. It feels like what the Islanders tried to do with their new building, but Detroit just did it way better. It's definitely worth the four-hour drive if you ever want to see the Penguins play on the road:
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Little Caesars Arena:
1. Jason Zucker, Penguins LW
2. Casey DeSmith, Penguins G
3. Dominik Kubalik, Red Wings LW
THE INJURIES
• Goaltender Tristan Jarry missed this game with an illness.
• Forward Jeff Carter left an earlier training camp scrimmage with an upper-body injury. Sullivan said Tuesday he was day-to-day. He's skating with the team in a non-contact jersey
• Forward Teddy Blueger left a training camp practice on Wednesday with an upper-body injury. It's not clear how he sustained it. He's day-to-day and has resumed skating on his own.
• Defenseman Taylor Fedun is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
• Forward Jonathan Gruden is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Ryan Poehling - Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn - Sam Poulin - Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
Ty Smith - Jan Rutta
And for Derek Lalonde's Red Wings:
Tyler Bertuzzi - Dylan Larkin - Lucas Raymond
Jakub Vrana - Pius Suter - David Perron
Adam Erne - Michael Rasmussen - Filip Zadina
Dominik Kubalik - Joe Veleno - Jonatan Berggren
Ben Chiarot - Moritz Seider
Olli Maatta - Filip Hronek
Simon Edvinsson - Gustav Lindstrom
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will practice in Cranberry at 12 p.m. on Tuesday. The final preseason game is Friday evening at home against the Sabres.
THE CONTENT
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