3 Things: Defensive shuffle, Murray's take and more

Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the Pens' Monday afternoon practice at PPG Paints Arena…

1. Defensive switch
The Pens switched up their defensive pairings at practice. The only duo that remained the same was Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang. The Pens flushed out the remaining pairs as follows…
Johnson-Schultz
Oleksiak-Riikola
Maatta-Ruhwedel
"We try different pairs almost daily to see what we might find, what chemistry might develop," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We're trying to make the best decisions that we think give the team the best chance to win."
Jack Johnson and Justin Schultz skated together at times during training camp, but ultimately Johnson was paired with Olli Maatta while Schultz skated with Jamie Oleksiak.
"I'm comfortable with anyone," Schultz said. "Each and every one of these guys, they're great players. They've been in the league for a while so you can't go wrong with any of them."
Johnson played the right side while paired with Maatta. But he moved back to the left side while working with Schultz. Though the left side is more a natural position for the left-handed Johnson, he has played both during his entire hockey career.
"I've been bouncing around my whole life. Not just my pro career," Johnson said. "I've learned to play both sides. I think there are pros and cons to both. To me, it doesn't really make a difference."
General manager Jim Rutherford prefers a setup that has one puck-moving offensive minded blueliner on each pair. Under Sullivan, that defenseman has been on the right side, while the more stay-at-home type would be on the left.
"We've had a certain player on the left side, certain players on the right side," Sullivan said. "We've mixed the players up a little bit."
If the above pairings do remain together, then Juuso Riikola or Chad Ruhwedel will be making their season debut Thursday night when the Pens host the Vegas Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena.
"I'm being patient," Riikola said. "I feel good. I haven't played a game yet, so I'll be (fresh)."
However, the coaching staff has not made any decisions on their lineup for Thursday night.
"What we decide ultimately to go with on Thursday will probably be something that we'll decide Wednesday night," Sullivan said.
2. Murray reflects
The Pens' practice lasted for an hour. Sullivan addressed the players and then the players, as usual, did work on their own post practice. Typically the informal post-practice sessions last anywhere between 10-15 minutes.
But on Monday the majority of players stayed on the ice for an extra 30 minutes or longer. An hour after practice had ended and the media was clearing out of the locker room, one player remained on the ice.
Goaltender Matt Murray.
Murray has surrendered 11 goals in the opening two games of the season. And it is no coincidence that he was on the ice for over two hours Monday.
"It's frustrating for sure," Murray said on Saturday night following the loss to Montreal. "I can't control the scoreboard, I can only control what I'm doing.
"It's tough when you're giving up this many goals. It sucks. But from my point of view, I try to see it objectively and how I felt. I felt better (in Game 2 than Game 1). That's what is important."
3. Workflow
The entire team was present for practice. The Pens used the following workflow…
Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Simon-Brassard-Rust
Cullen-Sheahan-Sprong
(Grant)
Dumoulin-Letang
Johnson-Schultz
Oleksiak-Riikola
Maatta-Ruhwedel