Joseph Blandisi expected to return to Penguins' lineup vs. Senators
It appears the one of the few changes the Pittsburgh Penguins will make to their lineup for Monday’s game against the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena will involve dressing forward Joseph Blandisi in place of Sam Lafferty.
Blandisi skated on a line at center with Patric Hornqvist and Dominik Simon on the wings during Monday’s morning skate.
“Joseph’s had a number of strong games for us,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He can really skate, he’s hard to play against, he’s responsible defensively, he can win faceoffs. So he brings a certain dimension that makes us harder to play against. When he does that, he’s very effective.”
A healthy scratch during Saturday’s 6-4 home win against the Nashville Predators, Blandisi has appeared in 17 games this season and has four points (two goals, two assists).
On Saturday, Lafferty logged 9:59 of ice time on 16 shifts and recorded two penalty minutes as well as two shots on net. Additionally, he was 5 for 9 on faceoffs (56%). He was one of the last players to leave the ice Monday morning.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Sullivan didn’t mask his predilection for using Lafferty as a winger instead of as a center.
“We prefer him on the wing,” Sullivan said. “We think he has a better opportunity to utilize his foot speed. But obviously, he has the ability to play center, as well. There’s a whole lot more responsibility associated with playing center, especially defensively. So, that’s a learning process. We do prefer him on the wing because of his speed and his ability to take defensemen wide, chase people down. His puck pursuit possibilities, I think, are greater when he’s on the wing.”
Lafferty has gone 10 games without a point.
Notes:
• The only other alteration to the Penguins’ lineup would involve starting goaltender Tristan Jarry for their final game of 2019.
Jarry, who supplanted incumbent Matt Murray as the team’s top goaltender, was the first goaltender off of the ice following Monday’s morning skate. He has appeared in 17 games this season and has a 12-5-0 record along with a 1.87 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and three shutouts.
On Saturday, Murray made 38 saves on 41 shots against the Predators.
• The Penguins’ lines and pairings at the morning skate were:
Jake Guentzel — Evgeni Malkin — Bryan Rust
Dominik Kahun — Jared McCann — Alex Galchenyuk
Dominik Simon — Joseph Blandisi — Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese — Teddy Blueger — Brandon Tanev
Jack Johnson — Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson — John Marino
Juuso Riikola — Chad Ruhwedel
• The top power-play unit included Guentzel, Hornqvist, Letang, Malkin and Rust. The second power-play group was composed of Galchenyuk, Kahun, Marino, McCann and Riikola.
• Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad worked out on the ice prior to the morning skate. He has not played since Nov. 15 because of a core muscle injury.
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, also sidelined because of a core muscle injury, did not work out Monday as he had a scheduled day off, according to Sullivan. Crosby has not played since Nov. 9.
• The Senators did not hold a morning skate after a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
• Senators defenseman Ron Hainsey, a member of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup team in 2017, is not expected to play because of an undisclosed injury.
• The NHL is scheduled to name players selected for the All-Star Game on Monday. The exhibition will be played Jan. 25 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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