3 Things: Penguins Practice 02.22.22
Blueger practices, Ruhwedel talks his extension and more
By
Michelle Crechiolo
Penguins Team Reporter
1. Blueger skates with the team
Teddy Blueger joined his teammates for the first time since undergoing surgery on Jan. 24 to repair a fractured jaw, wearing a white no-contact jersey and a full face shield. He had been skating on his own prior to this.
Head coach Mike Sullivan said the forward's status hasn't changed, and that he's still going through the rehab process. Blueger, who was injured after taking a high hit from Winnipeg's Brenden Dillon in the first period of their matchup on Jan. 23, was given a timetable of 6-8 weeks for recovery.
"He skated with the team today because the design of the practice was built around skill development and team-specific stuff like power play and penalty kill, things of that nature," Sullivan said. "So we knew there wasn't a lot of contact in the practice, and that gave him the opportunity to participate throughout the course of the whole practice. We'll see how that goes moving forward."
Zach Aston-Reese was the only expected player absent from practice, and Sullivan said the forward was given a maintenance day. The Penguins did not do line rushes.
2. Back to work
After winning four straight coming out of the All-Star break, the Penguins dropped their last two games on Thursday in Toronto (4-1 loss) and Sunday vs. Carolina (4-3 loss).
While the team certainly isn't thrilled with those results, by no means are they overreacting to how the past couple games have gone. The Penguins have put together a terrific body of work to this point, stepping up through injury and COVID-related adversities to climb into second place in the Metro Division (and fourth in the conference).
"But what we are going to do is we're going to see things for what they are, and we're going to look for ways to grow and improve and get better," Sullivan said. "That's always been our approach. We're never going to be a team that's satisfied with where we're at regardless of where we sit in the standings or whether we win or lose. For me, I always believe that the season is a journey for this for this team, and we're going to embrace this journey."
Following practice, the players said that it really just comes down to cleaning up some of the details of their game where Sullivan felt that they lacked attention. Forward Danton Heinen said it's not anything glaring, with defenseman Chad Ruhwedel adding that it's mostly a mindset where they make sure that they're locked in and ready to execute their systems and structure.
"We know that the last two games maybe weren't our best," Ruhwedel said. "We had some good moments in those games, we were fighting, but we know that we have better. So I think if we just stay the course and realize that there's some areas that we need to work on and need to fix, we'll be ready for Jersey on Thursday."
The Penguins practice again on Wednesday morning at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before hosting the Devils Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena for their fourth and final meeting of the season.
3. Ruhwedel's heart is in Pittsburgh
Over the weekend, the team announced they had re-signed Ruhwedel to a two-year contract extension that will kick in following the 2021-22 campaign.
The 30-year-old defenseman is quietly having a career year, and could have potentially gotten more on the open market this summer - but said that wasn't what it came down to for him.
"I want to be in Pittsburgh, I want to be a Penguin. This is where my heart is, for sure," Ruhwedel said. "So I'm glad we could get something done to stay."
After first signing with the Penguins back in the summer of 2016, Ruhwedel had spent a lot of time as Pittsburgh's seventh defenseman, possessing a unique ability to step right into the lineup and be effective after sitting on the sidelines for extended periods of time.
That role has changed this season, as a spot opened up on the third D pairing after Cody Ceci signed with Edmonton during free agency. Ruhwedel took his opportunity and ran with it, and hasn't looked back since. He has appeared in a career-high 48 games and counting skating alongside Mike Matheson, and has been a fixture on the NHL's No. 2-ranked penalty killing unit.
"From the start of the year, I've had a good opportunity to show why I am part of this team, why I deserve to be in the lineup," Ruhwedel said. "Just been trying to do that on a nightly basis. They know what I bring to the table, I know what I got to bring to the table to fit into this lineup. So that's just something I try to do on a daily basis."
Sullivan said that Ruhwedel has become a more polished version of himself over the years, saying that his game has grown immensely during his time in Pittsburgh. Sullivan specifically mentioned Ruhwedel's mobility, puck skills, his first pass and helping the Penguins get out of our endzone, and his ability to get pucks through on the offensive blue line.
"I just think that's a credit to him and his professionalism," Sullivan said. "He takes a lot of pride in this game, and he works hard at all those little subtleties that I think are so important to our overall team game, but in particular, his individual game and helping us become the team we're trying to become."
