The Penguins' blue line is getting closer to being completely healthy. Kris Letang, out since Dec. 28 with a lower-body injury, was a full participant in the Penguins' morning skate Tuesday here at PPG Paints Arena in advance of their matchup with the Panthers.
Letang has been back and skating with the team since last week, but had yet to take contact in a practice as of Saturday. When the Penguins opened Tuesday's morning skate with line rushes, Letang skated on the top defense pairing, indicating he has a good shot at playing against the Panthers. Mike Sullivan confirmed after the skate that Letang will be a game-time decision.
"The body's ready, for sure," Letang said. "The mind is anxious. You want to get out there."
Letang did note that a discussion with the coaching staff and team doctors would take place before a decision is made on his availability.
"When that happens, you've got to try to work harder in the gym," Letang said of the challenges of getting his conditioning back to his world-class level. "You try to keep that conditioning up, so that's what we did. When I went on the ice on my own, most of the time we were trying to reach a certain level of exertion."
If Letang does play Tuesday, it appears he'll be reunited with long-time partner Brian Dumoulin. The decision to bump Dumoulin up to the top pairing is a bit risky considering the season he's had, but his game has been trending in the right direction over the past few weeks. It's also worth noting that Letang is the only defense partner not named Ty Smith who has been able to pull positive results out of Dumoulin this season, as the Dumoulin-Letang pairing is rocking a 55.7% share of expected goals at 5-on-5 in 167 minutes together. That said, the pairing has just a 44.5% share of actual goals.
"Brian simplifies the game for me and for our team," Letang said. "He plays a north-south game, doesn't try to complicate things. When he has a play to make and skate with the puck, he does. It allows me to also play with the puck more, join the rush. You can always rely on him when you're kind of leaning on the offense."
UPDATE: Letang has been activated from long-term injured reserve. It appears he'll make his return against the Panthers.
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• This was a mandatory morning skate because the team had the day off Monday. All expected players were in attendance, including Josh Archibald, who remains out with a lower-body injury. He was placed on long-term injured reserve Monday night to give the Penguins an additional $900K in salary cap relief for the time being. He did not take part in line rushes and will not play against the Panthers.
• Jan Rutta (upper-body) is back to skating on his own, but not every day at this point, per Sullivan. He was moved from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 14, Tuesday afternoon.
• Kasperi Kapanen (undisclosed injury) skated on his own Tuesday morning as he rehabs his way back to the lineup. He will not play against the Panthers and was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Jan. 18.
• Here's the Penguins' full workflow during the skate:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn - Teddy Blueger - Jeff Carter
Drew O'Connor - Ryan Poehling - Danton Heinen
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph - Chad Ruhwedel
Ty Smith - Mark Friedman
• And the power-play units ...
PP1: Crosby, Guentzel, Rakell, Malkin, Letang
PP2: Carter, Zucker, Rust, Heinen, Petry
• Jonathan Gruden did not take part in line rushes but remains with the team. He did not play on Sunday against the Devils and is slated to be a healthy scratch again.
• Tristan Jarry was the first goalie off the ice during the skate and will make his third start in a row. He is 16-5-5 this season with a .921 save percentage, 2.65 goals against average and 9.21 goals saved above expected based on the quality of chances he's faced, per Evolving-Hockey.
• Sergei Bobrovsky is sidelined with a minor lower-body injury and won't dress for the Panthers Tuesday night. That leaves Alex Lyon, who started Monday night in New York against the Rangers, and Spencer Knight, who hasn't made an NHL start since Jan. 8 due to injury and a conditioning stint in the AHL. Knight is expected to start. He is 9-7-3 this season with a .906 save percentage, 3.05 goals against average while allowing 2.17 goals more than expected.
• Puck drops at 7:08 p.m. tonight against the Panthers. I'll be there with Dejan Kovacevic for your coverage.
