Things got heated for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, and words were exchanged.

The team was broken up into two squads for a practice session in Cranberry. One unit wore black jerseys and the other yellow.

During the final drill — a short-area two-on-two scrimmage — the yellow squad appeared to score the winning goal, and several members of that outfit skated to center ice to begin stretching, the final portion of the formal practice.

But the players in black protested, citing a violation of rules. And coaches were sympathetic to their case.

Thus, the drill was restarted and competition ensued. Defenseman Ryan Shea appeared to score the winning goal, prompting a group hug around Shea and celebrations among the black team. As that went on, forward Blake Lizotte, a member of the yellow team, threw his stick down the ice to protest the outcome before stretching once again.

“Just some rules within the game that we play,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said with a smirk. “There was some debate over whether the rules were broken or not. It turned out the goal was overturned. Then, black won. That’s all that matters.”

Since the calendar flipped to November, the Penguins have been in the red as far as wins and losses go. They are 2-4-3 over their past nine games and have tumbled in the standings after a strong start in October when they raced out to an 8-2-2 mark.

A fun but highly competitive practice, such as they had Monday, is vital for emerging from this skid.

“It’s huge,” defenseman Parker Wotherspoon said. “Obviously, it doesn’t feel good to lose those games. Guys are a little bit down. But when you have something like that, bringing everyone together in a huddle, guys love to compete against each other. It’s fun to watch. It makes some guys mad but it makes some guys smile.

“It’s good team stuff.”

What hasn’t been good for the team has been health.

The Penguins currently have seven players on injured reserve, including two top-six wingers (Justin Brazeau and Rickard Rakell), their potential immediate replacements (Filip Hallander and Ville Koivunen) and their most established goaltender (Tristan Jarry). Throw in a sturdy fourth-liner (Noel Acciari) and a reserve defenseman (Caleb Jones), and nearly half a full lineup is in a state of convalescence.

(Additionally, top-line right winger Bryan Rust was absent from Monday’s practice because of an illness.)

Not coincidentally, many of those ailments have happened over this past nine-game stretch of mostly losses.

As the oft-used cliche goes, no one wants to use injuries as an excuse. But it’s difficult to deny the reality that they are a reason the Penguins haven’t as good as of late.

As such, the Penguins have needed to alter their approach with a lesser lineup.

“You need to adjust,” coach Dan Muse said. “Maybe it’s usage, potentially. You’re adjusting in terms of special teams. You have to now put guys in some different positions that way. You’re making sure guys are up to speed where even if they’re not taking on the same amounts of minutes as the player they’re replacing, that they are in a position where they’re going to be able to contribute in some of those areas as well. There is some of that.

“But in the end, this is part of our game. You’ve got to be ready here for the next man up. You’ve got to make sure you’re finding a way.”

One of Muse’s ways to find a course correction is to stage practices such as the one that was held Monday.

“I just think that’s the way he came in Pittsburgh, with the mentality of (having) competition every single practice,” defenseman Kris Letang said of the first-year coach. “Whether it’s the drills at the beginning, scoring goals, or at the end, we’ll play some two-on-two, three-on-three, four-on-four, any types of games. He wants us to keep scoring and be competitive.

“That’s what he’s been doing since training camp. I like that he applies that during the season also.”

Muse, who was highly critical of the team following Saturday’s 3-2 overtime home loss to the Seattle Kraken, did quite a bit of yelling during Monday’s session.

But he wasn’t shouting. He was instructing.

“He just tries to bring tons of energy,” Letang said. “He wants to have energy. He wants us to be competitive within the group. That’s good that we still have that. We don’t want that to fade away.”

The Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday for their traditional Thanksgiving “eve” home game. But before that, they will presumably have another fun but highly competitive practice Tuesday in Cranberry.

In their estimation, that is how they will emerge from their doldrums.

“It’s been maybe harder for games lately, so we’re trying to make it a little bit more joyful and work hard,” forward Anthony Mantha said. “The competition helps for that.”

“Trying to get that competition level higher in practice, it translates into games.”

Notes: Rookie forward Tristan Broz was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Meanwhile, veteran forward Philip Tomasino was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton under normal conditions while rookie defensemen Harrison Brunicke and Jack St. Ivany were sent to the AHL club for conditioning assignments. … Jarry and Koivunen each participated in Monday’s practice in full-contact capacities. … The Penguins signed defensive prospect Peyton Kettles to a three-year entry-level contract.

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