Penguins notebook: In an empty arena, Mike Sullivan might have to use his indoor voice

When the NHL resumes play, in a pair of hub cities with 12 teams at each venue, the starkest contrast from normal playoff games will be the absence of fans.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan foresees that having a considerable impact on play.

“Players are accustomed to fans and noise and that environment,” he said. “There’s a certain energy that it brings to an arena and that energy is not going to be there. By nature of that, it’s just going to be different. I do think once the puck drops and players start to compete, the goal hasn’t changed. The objective is to win the Stanley Cup. That’s going to be the driving force to elevate competitiveness and the intensity level. There will be an adjustment process where players find the experience awkward (at first).”

As for coaches, the lack of noise might force them to be more discreet with regards to issuing direction from the bench in order to avoid tipping off the opponent. Especially if the coach happens to have a throaty baritone voice that could easily be confused for a siren with a Boston accent.

“As my assistant coaches note, my voice carries within an arena with full capacity,” Sullivan quipped. “I’m sure there will be an adjustment process by the coaches as well. Sometimes as coaches, you find that you have to raise your voice just over the crowd noise so that you can communicate to the players. When we were in the (2017) Stanley Cup Final in Nashville, I was hoarse after every game just from trying to make sure our guys knew what line was up next so that we didn’t have a miscommunication on the bench trying to speak over the noise in the building. That will be an adjustment process from the coaching staff’s view.”

Sullivan addressed a few other items in a phone interview with the Tribune-Review:

• Forward Jake Guentzel is expected to participate in the team’s optional skates in Cranberry this week. He has been sidelined since late December after suffering a serious right shoulder injury.

“Jake is participating in the informal skates this week with other players,” Sullivan said. “His progress is as anticipated and we’re very encouraged where he’s at.”

• Sullivan expressed disappointment on behalf of injured forwards Nick Bjugstad (back) and Dominik Simon (left shoulder). Each player will be sidelined for the remainder of the season following surgeries during the NHL’s hiatus.

“These guys, they work so hard to contribute and be on the ice,” Sullivan said. “You hate to see that when guys go through surgeries that are going to put them on the sidelines for an extended period of time. Nick in particular has had a real challenging year, and we all feel for him. Dom, he worked extremely hard to avoid surgery so he could continue to play. But obviously, that didn’t work out the way that we were hopeful that it would. So surgery was necessary. But it’s never an easy thing for these guys. They want to be on the ice. This is their passion.”

• Sullivan indicated no players expressed any concern or hesitation over playing due to the coronavirus. Furthermore, Sullivan was unsure if the unidentified Penguins player who tested positive for the coronavirus would have his availability to play compromised by the illness.

• Sullivan was not aware of any issues in returning to the United States for players who traveled to their homes in Canada or Europe during the pause.

There was no word yet on what players the Penguins might recall from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League assuming the NHL permits expanded rosters for the postseason. Sullivan stressed the importance those players could serve, even if they don’t play in games of consequence.

“We’ve got to have a training camp where I think it’s important that we have the ability to have intrasquad games,” Sullivan said. “One of the things the coaching staff has talked about is getting our guys acclimated with a game environment. Intrasquad games are going to be important. We have to have sufficient guys in order to do that. The other aspect of it is, just like when you’re going into a playoff-type experience, you have to have enough guys as part of your group that in the event that injuries take place, you can continue to (dress) a competitive roster. So we’re trying to answer those questions. The league is going to give us direction on roster sizes and things like that as they define those.”

• Finally, Sullivan offered a few thoughts on the civil unrest which has gripped the United States over the past two weeks following the killing of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25.

“It’s obviously unfortunate, some of the events that have taken place.” Sullivan said. “I can only speak from my experience, the experiences that I’ve had to this point has been far removed from some of the racism that’s taken place. But I think certainly from my standpoint, it should make us all very aware of the world that takes place around us. The important thing is, from my standpoint, is that is we all reflect on this and we hope that we can all be part of the solution and get better when it comes to racial diversity and things of that nature. And I think if we can all be part of that solution, the unfortunate incident of George Floyd’s death will not be in vain. That’s the thing that has come to my attention is that I certainly have to reflect and find a way to be part of the solution like everyone else.”