ST. PAUL, Minn — Pittsburgh Penguins forward Joseph Blandisi made his season debut Saturday against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

The Penguins recalled Blandisi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Friday and assigned forward Andrew Agozzino to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“(Blandisi is) another player that’s part of the depth of this organization that we knew that at some point he could play games for us,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a little bit different than (Agozzino) in the sense that he’s got a little bit more size, a little bit more speed, he plays a simpler game.”

Blandisi, 25, appeared in six NHL games with the Penguins last season and did not record a point. He began the season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins centering the third line. In one AHL contest this season, he has no points.

Agozzino, 28, was recalled Monday and made his Penguins debut during Thursday’s 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena. His first contest in a Penguins jersey hardly was a memorable one as he only recorded 1 minute, 44 seconds of ice time on four shifts, none of which came after the Ducks’ lone goal at 3:27 of the second period. Agozzino was on the ice during that score.

Blueger drops gloves

Teddy Blueger recorded his second career fighting major against the Ducks when he fought defenseman Korbinian Holzer at 5:03 of the first period. He dropped the gloves in response to a heavy hit Holzer laid into Penguins forward Adam Johnson while the two were pursuing the puck along the Ducks’ end boards.

While neither Blueger nor Holzer are regular fighters, it was a pretty clear mismatch as Blueger stands a modest 6-foot and 185 pounds in comparison to Holzer at 6-3 and 213 pounds. Blueger jumped Holzer and was fed a series of right hands for his troubles.

Regardless of his scarce pugilistic history or his dimensions, the fact Blueger tried to avenge a fallen teammate wasn’t unexpected to Sullivan.

“I’m not surprised because he’s a great teammate, and he’s a competitive guy,” Sullivan said. “It doesn’t surprise me. It was a little bit of a mismatch. That guy was a whole lot bigger than Teddy was. That’s just an indication of how good a teammate Teddy is and his competitive nature.”

Guerin’s impact

Saturday’s contest was the first between the Penguins and the Wild since former Penguins power forward-turned-executive Bill Guerin took over as Minnesota’s general manager.

Guerin was a member of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup titles in 2009, as a player, as well as ’16 and ’17, as an assistant general manager.

“He’s a lot of fun to be around,” Sullivan said. “He’s an engaging guy. And he has a lot of knowledge through his playing experience. And now he’s acquired the business experience as it relates to hockey through the experience he’s gained as an assistant general manager and a development role with the Penguins. What I’ve really respected about Billy is he’s put the time in and gone through the process and acquired the experience that’s necessary to have success at the level that’s he’s at right now. He’s a hard worker, he’s a fun guy to be around but he’s not afraid to be make decisions. And he has strong convictions on how he thinks the game should be played.

“I’ve always admired and valued the conversations that he’s been a part of with our coaching staff. I’ve got a lot of respect for his knowledge of the game.”

Guerin’s impact on the 2009 title-winning team was clear as he was third on the team with 15 points in 24 postseason games. His contributions to the ’16 and ’17 titles were less tangible.

“The Stanley Cup runs, to those that have been through that experience, it’s not all highlights,” Sullivan said. “There’s ups and downs. Every series has its challenges. It can be an emotional roller-coaster. Billy always has a way to lighten the atmosphere at an opportune time when the pressure is on everyone. What jumps out to me the most is probably that support that he gave us through those Stanley Cup runs.”

Lineup notes

Defensemen Erik Gudbranson, Juuso Riikola and Chad Ruhwedel were scratched Saturday. Gudbranson has been scratched for two consecutive games, and Riikola and Ruhwedel have yet to play this season.

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