Friends Back Together

It was the Penguins' first formal practice in more than four months, but it also seemed like old times - Sidney Crosby centering for Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary on Monday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The Crosby-Guentzel-Sheary combo helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2017 and earner the nickname "Sid and the Kids," but they hadn't been together for two years due to trades and injuries. That all changed on the first day of a unique summer training camp.

"We're pretty familiar with each other," Crosby said. "We had a chance to skate in those small groups for a while. We had some fun together, tried to prepare as best we could. We have a short period of time to get ready."

Penguins players were excited to get back on the ice as a full group as the NHL entered Phase 3 of its Return to Play format. Part of the intrigue was identifying the top line combinations, and Coach Mike Sullivan and his staff went with Crosby-Guentzel-Sheary and Evgeni Malkin-Jason Zucker-Bryan Rust.

The long break has afforded Guentzel the chance to return from shoulder surgery and given Sullivan assorted offensive options. But, as Crosby said, the challenge for the newly-fortified Penguins have to come together quickly - they leave for the hub city of Toronto on July 26 and open the best-of-five qualifying round against the Montreal Canadiens on August 1.

"Any time you get an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup you want to take advantage of it," Crosby said in a video interview with the Pittsburgh media. "It's not easy, It's a great feeling, and we've felt it before. We know what it takes. That's your goal every year. We're in a position to compete for it, and we've got to find a way to get it done."

Having Guentzel back in the fold improves their chances. He had 20 goals and 43 points in 43 games before crashing violently into the boards in mid-season, leading to surgery that, in a normal year, would have wiped out his season

"It always takes a little time, but he's looked really good," Crosby said. "He looks really comfortable, strong. The fact that he's been able to skate for a good chunk of time will help. For somebody who had as much of a layoff as he did, he did a great job of rehabbing."

In addition to reacquainting themselves in a formal team setting on Monday, Crosby and the Penguins also started to adapt to new health-and-protocols developed by the NHL and NHLPA, in cooperation with medical authorities.

"We're taking a few days to get used to this new reality for us as far as testing and all the social distancing that will happen here at the rink," he said. "It will become our new normal. Figuring all that stuff out is important.

"The last four months is probably hard to put into a short quote. It's been challenging for everybody in different ways. As far as preparing to play, it forced me to be a little creative. You find ways to stay ready the best you can given the situation. We're happy to be back and preparing" to play.

\\*

Coach Mike Sullivan wasn't surprised by the energy level of the Penguins' first practice of training camp.

That's because he'd heard all the stories about what had been taking place during voluntary workouts without coaches for the past five weeks, as players prepared themselves after a long layoff.

"The level of participation we had in the informal voluntary skates was an example of that enthusiasm," Sullivan said. "Watching the team practice today, with the energy level and enthusiasm (they had) is just affirmation that we've got a group that's excited. Our guys have it in perspective. This is hard trophy to win. But we're excited by the opportunity. We're going to push ourselves to be the very best."

Never before in hockey history have teams gone directly from a two-week training camp to the Stanley Cup playoffs, so this is uncharted territory. But while following the coaching mantra of taking one step at a time, Sullivan isn't shy about addressing the ultimate goal.

"I think this team has as good a chance as any team in the league to win the Stanley Cup," he said. "I mentioned that to the group today I think our players recognize the opportunity. We also recognize how difficult it is to win. There a lot of good teams out there.

"Now it's about going out there to make sure we're prepared to take advantage of that opportunity. We're going to stay in the moment and not get ahead of ourselves. Control what we can each and every day. I'm excited about this group, and I'm really excited about the opportunity we have in front of us."

Buoying the spirits of the coaching staff was the presence and performance of winger Jake Guentzel in his first full practice since returning from shoulder surgery.

"I thought Jake looked terrific," Sullivan said. "He's been on the ice for a while and he's worked extremely hard to get to this point. He looks really strong. We're excited to get hm back in the lineup for obvious reasons."

\\*

When he was acquired by the Penguins before the trading deadline, Jason Zucker played on a line with Sidney Crosby.

Monday, on the first day of training camp, he skated with Evgeni Malkin.

Zucker has a pretty good job.

"It's a work in progress, but he's an amazing player as everybody knows," Zucker said. "It' a little bit different style than playing with Sid, for sure … but he's not a hard guy to play with. I'm excited for the opportunity."

Zucker was acquired to fill Jake Guentzel's slot on Crosby's line after Guentzel's shoulder surgery, but now the presence of both elite wingers gives Sullivan intriguing options.

"The coaches are excited because we have some options where we can move people around with Sid and Geno, to make us hard to play against," Sullivan said. "That's always subject to change, but we thought we'd start there. I thought they had a good first day."

For their part, Zucker and the other players were relieved and excited to get back to some sort of normalcy with a full-team practice, especially after such a long layoff.

"I think a lot of guys would say the ice is our safe haven," he said. "It's a place where we can go and be kids again. We take it very seriously, but we're also having fun out there. We have fun battling. I think we carry a light spirit but a very serious one as well."

\\*

Patrick Marleau, age 40, began his NHL career in 1997. He's never won the Stanley Cup.

The veteran forward is hungry, and that kind of hunger and leadership makes him a valuable asset to the Penguins as they head to Toronto.

"I still love the game, still want to play, still want to win the Cup," Marleau said. "This is a great opportunity for myself here in Pittsburgh to put some hard work in and see where it leads us. Hopefully it's with us winning at the end."