Patric Hornqvist resumes skating with Penguins
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Forward Patric Hornqvist participated in the Penguins’ morning skate Friday at Bridgestone Arena. It marked the first time he has skated with the team since suffering a right knee injury in a 5-2 road loss to the St. Louis Blues Nov. 30.
Coach Mike Sullivan said Hornqvist will not play in Friday’s game against the Nashville Predators but indicated his participation in a morning skate on the road was significant progress in his rehabilitation.
“(Hornqvist) will not play tonight but he’s close,” Sullivan said. “He’s joined the team in a full capacity. He’s been skating for a while now. He’s had contact. So he’s getting closer to being a coach’s decision.”
During the skate, Hornqvist worked on a “fifth line” along with assistant coach Mark Recchi and reserve forward Thomas Di Pauli.
Hornqvist, who remains on injured reserve, has appeared in 20 games this season and has 11 points (six goals, five assists).
Notes:
• Goaltender Tristan Jarry is expected to start in net for the Penguins. He has appeared in 16 games this season and has an 11-5-0 record along with a 1.86 goals against average, .939 save percentage and three shutouts.
• Earlier in the morning, the Penguins formally recalled Di Pauli along with forward Joseph Blandisi and defenseman Kevin Czuczman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Di Pauli and Czuczman are expected to be healthy scratches.
• The Penguins’ lines and pairings in the morning skate were:
Jake Guentzel - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk - Jared McCann - Dominik Kahun
Zach Aston-Reese - Teddy Blueger - Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty - Joseph Blandisi - Dominik Simon
Jack Johnson - Kris Letang
Juuso Riikola - John Marino
Marcus Pettersson - Chad Ruhwedel
• The Penguins’ top power play unit included Guentzel, Letang, Malkin, McCann and Rust. The second unit was composed of Aston-Reese, Galchenyuk, Kahun, Marino and Riikola.
• The Penguins traveled from Pittsburgh early in the morning. NHL rules prohibit team activities, including travel, during the league’s holiday break which ended at midnight on Friday.
• Sullivan indicated injured forwards Sidney Crosby and Nick Bjugstad - each sidelined due to core muscle injuries - skated with skills coach Ty Hennes in Pittsburgh. Crosby has not played since Nov. 9. Bjugstad has been sidelined since Nov. 15.
• Defensemen Brian Dumoulin (left ankle) and Justin Schultz (undisclosed) are not skating. Dumoulin has not played since Nov. 30 while Schultz has missed the past two games.
• Pekka Rinne is expected to start in net for the Predators. In 21 games this season, Rinne has a 13-5-3 record along with a 2.93 goals against average, .896 save percentage and three shutouts.
The Predators’ lines and pairings in the morning skate were:
Calle Jarnkrok - Ryan Johansen - Viktor Arvidsson
Filip Forsberg - Matt Duchene - Mikael Granlund
Rocco Grimaldi - Kyle Turris - Craig Smith
Colton Sissons - Nick Bonino - Austin Watson
Roman Josi - Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm - Dante Fabbro
Dan Hamhuis - Matt Irwin
• Predators defenseman Roman Josi is expected to skate in his 600th career game.
• The Predators recalled forward Colin Blackwell and former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Jarred Tinordi from Milwaukee of the AHL. Each is expected to be a healthy scratch Friday.
• The Penguins and Predators are scheduled to meet again on Saturday in PPG Paints Arena at 7:08 p.m.
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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