1. Letang practices
Defenseman Kris Letang returned to practice for Pittsburgh after missing Tuesday night's game against the New York Islanders with a lower-body injury.
"I felt pretty good," said Letang, who was a full participant in practice. "I tested it a little bit earlier to see if I was able to skate with the guys. It went pretty well after that.
"I was going hard."
Letang will see how he feels when he wakes up Thursday to determine whether he can play Thursday night in Brooklyn.
Letang suffered the injury after receiving a hit from Vancouver's Tim Schaller in the corner on Saturday. He left the game, but was able to return and finish the contest thanks to "adrenaline."
"At first I was kind of scared, but I was able to finish," Letang said. "I chatted with the docs but we're positive about that."
Letang is arguably the most irreplaceable player for the Pens. He is the only player on the backend that can do what he does, whether it's eating minutes, making plays or playing in all facets of the game.
"He's difficult to replace," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "'Tanger' with our group is so vitally important to every aspect of our game. We utilize him in every situation. He's not easy to replace."
Center Derick Brassard did not skate on Wednesday and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He will not play Thursday against the Islanders.
2. Grudge match
The Pens played Tuesday night's contest against the Islanders with heavy hearts as it was the first home game since the tragic synagogue shooting in Squirrel Hill last Saturday that left 11 people dead.
The Pens lost the contest, 6-3. But it was perhaps because they wanted so badly to do well for the city of Pittsburgh that it led to their downfall.
"Players are prideful and they want to do well for their fans," Sullivan said. "Our spirit, our effort, our try, our want was in the right place. It was an emotional night for everybody, our players in particular.
"I think our group wanted to inspire the city, I really believe that. But sometimes when your want is that high you can lose sight of the focus or the details that make you hard to play against, the structure."
The Pens have a chance to right the ship and exact a little revenge as they have a rematch with the Islanders on Thursday night in the home-and-home series.
"Mentally you know what to expect, knowing how they play, what the game looked like, tendencies," captain Sidney Crosby said. "That's probably the biggest thing just being able to envision what the game will look like and what to expect, and preparing for that."
3. Workflow…
Guentzel-Crosby-Simon
Hagelin-Malkin-Kessel
Sheahan-Cullen-Hornqvist
Rust-Grant-Sprong
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Oleksiak
Johnson-Ruhwedel
(Riikola)
PP1: Letang, Malkin, Kessel, Crosby, Hornqvist
PP2: Maatta, Johnson, Simon, Sprong, Guentzel
