Day before full intrasquad scrimmage, Penguins practice features rare 5-on-5 simulated game
Sidney Crosby went to the center-ice dot. Jared McCann, too. A third party dropped the puck.
And off they went.
There was no clock, the scoreboard was turned off, it lasted no more than a total of 15 minutes and line changes were relegated to a special whistle blown to stop play.
In other words, its resemblance to an actual NHL game was marginal, at best. But in this coronavirus-affected world, the five-on-five, full-ice scrimmage that capped Friday’s practice was the closest thing to a competitive game any of the Pittsburgh Penguins had taken part in since their 5-2 win at the New Jersey Devils on March 10.
“It was really fun just to have some more realistic game action,” forward Sam Lafferty said. “That’s what we love to do, at the end of the day.”
And game play is something that was taken away from the Penguins when the NHL “paused” its season March 12 following the declaration of the covid-19 pandemic.
The Penguins have an even more structured intrasquad scrimmage scheduled for Saturday morning. That one will features two 25-minute periods and effectively take the place of a scheduled practice. It will even be broadcast via Penguins’ internet platforms starting at 10:45 a.m.
Penguins vs. Penguins.
Who should we root for?Tomorrow's intra-squad scrimmage is closed to the public, but fans can watch via stream on our website, app, YouTube, or Facebook.
Full scrimmage details: https://t.co/83fuWApwtQ pic.twitter.com/jVQmvYoVME
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 17, 2020
It’s all part of the ramp-up to the NHL’s return Aug. 1 that will feature the Penguins opening up a best-of-five playoff series in Toronto against the Montreal Canadiens. Coach Mike Sullivan said more scrimmages are scheduled for the remainder of camp in Cranberry Township and over the first few days once the Penguins arrive in the hub city of Toronto.
“An important aspect of getting guys game-ready is putting them in game situations,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of subtleties of the game that you can’t simulate in a practice environment through a drill, or you can’t simulate in informal skates were you are trying to social distance and there is no contact. The only way you have an opportunity to work on those subtle points are in game situations.”
The highlights of Friday’s scrimmage period were a lunging stick save by Tristan Jarry to rob Kris Letang of a goal, as well as Patrick Marleau’s goal that gave his “Gold” team (comprised of bottom-six forwards) a win.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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