Chad Ruhwedel waited 21 games to dress for his first contest of the 2019-20 season.

In 2020-21, he had to wait only one game.

On Friday, the Penguins’ defenseman made his season debut, opening his team’s second contest of the campaign on a third defensive pairing with Mike Matheson at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

He replaced newcomer Cody Ceci, who was scratched following his Penguins debut during Wednesday’s 6-3 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Matheson was demoted from the second pair to the third pair and flip-flopped with Marcus Pettersson, who reclaimed his spot on the second pairing alongside John Marino.

“We’re looking for combinations that are complementary of one another, that give us a solid group of six that allow us to cast them in certain roles and bring different things to the table,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference from Philadelphia. “That’s what we’re looking for. We have eight defensemen on our active roster that we believe are capable of helping us win games on any given night. We’ll make those decisions on a game-by-game basis.”

A member of the Penguins for five seasons, the 30-year-old Ruhwedel has appeared in only 138 of the 317 regular season games the Penguins have played over that stretch. But even on the occasions he has been pressed into service following lengthy layoffs, he usually has provided ample reason for the team to trust him with a lineup spot.

“He’s a guy that’s really professional,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “He’s an older guy, obviously, a veteran guy. So he knows how to prepare. He goes into practice, practicing like he’s going to play. His intensity in practice can translate to the game whenever he gets the call to get in. It’s good to have a guy like this that is always ready to hop over the boards and be ready in all types of situations.”

“He’s a guy that’s really reliable defensively. And he can bring some offense. He’s got a really good shot. He’s a good skater. He plays hard. He has a physical element to his game.”

Trotman out 4-6 weeks

Penguins defenseman Zach Trotman will be sidelined four to six weeks following surgery to his right knee for a torn meniscus.

Trotman, 30, has not skated with the team since practice was halted abruptly on Saturday because of coronavirus-related concerns.

The surgery was performed Thursday in Wilkes-Barre.

Kapanen update

Sullivan provided an update on forward Kasperi Kapanen. The Finnish-born Kapanen was unable to participate in training camp after failing to secure a work visa in a timely fashion and is nearing the completion of a quarantine as per the NHL’s protocol for the coronavirus pandemic.

“Barring any setbacks, he would be available fairly soon here,” Sullivan said. “I’ve had a couple of conversations with him to this point. It’s hard to answer that question until we see him (on the ice). But we’re certainly excited and encouraged that we’re going to get him with the team here fairly shortly. We’re going to try to assimilate him into the group as quickly and as effectively as we can. But we also think in terms of putting players in position to be successful. We have that in mind as well.

“It’s a difficult question to answer because we don’t have him with the group right now. But when we do, I think it will give us a much better, much clearer idea of how close he is and where he’s at.”

Schedule changes

The NHL announced a series of schedule changes for the 2020-21 season, including two that involve the Penguins.

A home game against the Buffalo Sabres was moved to March 26 from March 27.

Additionally, a road contest against the Sabres was moved to April 19 from April 20.

Both games are scheduled to start shortly after 7 p.m.

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