3 things: Sullivan returns, lineup preview and Sprong
By
Pens writing staff @PensInsideScoop / Pittsburgh Penguins
1. Sullivan returns
It's been a trying week for Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. His father, George, passed away last Saturday at the age of 81. Sullivan took a leave of absence from the team for the funeral and to be with his family.
Sullivan was back with the team on Friday.
"It feels good to be back and get back into a routine," Sullivan said. "It was a little awkward, obviously it is a unique circumstance, but I'm excited to get back on the ice with the team."
Sullivan addressed the team prior to practice and delivered a heartfelt message to his team.
"As I said to our players this morning, none of us get here alone," Sullivan said. "It takes a lot of support and people that love you along the way that make sacrifices to help you achieve success. I'm no different."
Although his father passed, Sullivan was thankful for getting to celebrate back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with his dad.
"Obviously I had a very good relationship with my father. I am so grateful to have experienced the Stanley Cup with him," Sullivan said. "I think that was the thrill of his life. And it was certainly the thrill of my life to be able to share it with him."
2. Sneak preview?
After reducing the training camp roster to 45 players on Thursday, the Pens split the remaining players into two groups for Friday's practice. And the first unit featured a lineup of 23 players that could be the fixture for the start of the season.
Though Sullivan said not to read too much into that.
"I wouldn't read into them quite yet," he said. "We're just trying to put combinations together that we think are challenging for our roster to help them play at their best. We're moving some guys around to see what sort of chemistry may evolve."
The Pens also used line combinations and defensive pairings that could also be how the team shakes out for opening night, although center Riley Sheahan (lower-body) still has yet to practice during training camp.
The team used the following setup…
Guentzel-Crosby-Sprong
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Brassard-Rust
Aston-Reese-Cullen-Hornqvist
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Johnson
Oleksiak-Schultz
Riikola-Ruhwedel
Pittsburgh also worked on special teams. The units were virtually the same as last season (with the exception of Sprong on the second unit).
Unit 1: Letang, Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Hornqvist
Unit 2: Schultz, Brassard, Sprong, Simon, Guentzel
"We understand that we were the top unit and every team tries to play hard against us," Malkin said. "We have an unbelievable first power play. We try to play right. We have a few options and we try to use our skill and play hard."
The Pens boasted the No. 1 power play unit in the NHL during the 2017-18 campaign with a 26.2-percent success rate. Although most of the personnel are returning for this season, that doesn't mean the man-advantage will just automatically pick up where it left off.
"You have to build those habits again," Crosby said. "It's good that as a group we have confidence. We know we can create some things out there. I think you have to build those habits back up. It starts here in camp, but I'll be a continuation of what we did last year, and hopefully a few things we can adjust and catch teams off guard a bit too."
3. Spring Sprong
Sprong was in the lineup for both of Pittsburgh's first two preseason games on Tuesday and Wednesday. And while he had his moments against Buffalo and Detroit, Pens assistant coach Mark Recchi said he didn't quite stand out like they would have hoped.
"We've got to keep working with him and keep getting him games and keep getting him comfortable here," Recchi said. "He's a good young player. We expect more and we expect we'll get that from him."
The 21-year-old winger is aware of what the coaching staff wants to see from him, and he realizes he still has a ways to go. But Sprong said playing those two games was a huge help in terms of getting comfortable, and hopes to hit full stride this weekend.
"The first game, with timing and getting the legs going, of course it's a lot different than intra-squad games," he said. "I think in Detroit as the game went on, especially in the third, I felt more comfortable in making plays and just getting back into game action. I'm pretty happy, actually, that I got to play two games and just got everything going. Hopefully when I play next it goes well."
During those intra-squad scrimmages and practices, Sprong has been skating with Crosby, who wasn't in the lineup for either of the two games. If Sprong gets the chance to play with him this weekend, he plans to just play his game, which is the message the coaching staff gave him on Day 1.
"I know what my strengths are," Sprong said. "Just try to get to those strengths. Of course, when you start off the game with some good chances early and you feel like you're getting in the game that always helps. But just got to play my game and be ready to go every shift. Of course not every shift is going to go your way, but you got to make sure that the next one does."
