TORONTO -- The Penguins' recent seven-game losing streak that ended on Wednesday, obviously, wasn't easy to endure for the players in the locker room.
For a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, slipping toward the bottom of the standings this early in the season could have completely derailed their mindset and energy for the game, but they're making sure that won't happen, no matter what.
Following morning skate at Scotiabank Arena here in Toronto on Friday, Jason Zucker was asked if the Penguins' performance on Wednesday against the Capitals was somewhat similar to their performance during several of the losses during the losing streak.
"A lot of the time when you’re going through slumps, it takes a couple of games of doing the right things for it to finally pay off, and I think that’s what happened," Zucker said. "I thought Seattle we played well, I thought Boston we played well, even Buffalo, I thought we played well and we had a time-period lapse in all of those games that we ended up losing leads, and that’s kind of what bit us on those. But I think overall, they were better games, we were moving in the right direction in all of them. It was more about sticking with it than it was changing anything further."
That's pretty on the money. During the skid, the Penguins -- mostly -- controlled play at 5-on-5, but were crushed by poor special teams and short stretches of play that fed momentum to the opposition.
"Sometimes it takes time and, honestly, it goes the other way when you’re winning," Zucker said. "When you’re feeling great, there’s a lot of games that you’re not playing that well and you just end up winning because of puck luck or because you’re just feeling it a little bit more than the other team."
I asked Zucker how to manage those swings, whether positive or negative.
"You got to find a way. It’s a long season, it’s a hard season," he said. "You got to do what you can to kind of stay up and stay positive. But realistically, it’s trying to have a real evaluation of yourself and your team. It comes down to honesty within the room and knowing that you didn’t play well and you didn’t deserve to win, but you did, and vice versa."
The Penguins will have the chance to win a second game in a row when they play the Maple Leafs tonight here in Toronto. Puck drops at 7:08 p.m.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Prior to the skate, the Penguins recalled defenseman Mark Friedman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and re-assigned Sam Poulin as a corresponding roster move. Friedman has no goals and two assists in 10 AHL games this season. He was not in attendance at morning skate.
• Friedman's recall initially indicated that either or both of P.O Joseph and Jan Rutta might miss time due to injury after leaving Wednesday's game early and not returning, but now the recall appears to just be some insurance. Joseph and Rutta participated in the Penguins' morning skate without any limitations, and skated on the same pairings that they started on for Wednesday's game.
• Rutta, after saying he's good to go following the skate, was asked if he had any comment on Alex Ovechkin's hit that took him out of the game Wednesday, to which he replied, "Sometimes you got to get off the tracks, right?"
• Both goaltenders were on the ice for morning skate, but Mike Sullivan confirmed that Casey DeSmith will make his second consecutive start.
• Here are the lines and defense pairings used during the skate ...
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Danton Heinen
Filip Hallander - Ryan Poehling - Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson - Kris Letang
P.O Joseph - Jeff Petry
Brian Dumoulin - Jan Rutta
Kasperi Kapanen - Chad Ruhwedel
• Kapanen's placement as an extra defender during line rushes indicates he'll be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row.
• Teddy Blueger was out on the ice for the skate, but did not take part in line rushes.
• Auston Matthews was asked about Sidney Crosby remaining one of the league's best players so late into his career on Thursday.
"Even as he’s gotten a little bit older, I just feel like he’s adjusted his game and just continued to be so effective out there no matter what the situation is. It’s really impressive and obviously [he’s] a guy that presents a big challenge for opposing teams," he said.
• Second-year goalie Erik Kallgren gets the start in goal for the Maple Leafs tonight. He is 1-1-3 this season with an .890 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average.
• According to Mark Masters of TSN, former Penguin Matt Murray felt "really, really good" at Maple Leafs practice on Thursday as he rehabs from an adductor strain. Murray got hurt in his very first start of the season, allowing four goals on 23 shots from the Canadiens before exiting the game.
