With the possible exception of Anthony Angello on the day of his first call-up to the NHL, introductions between Pittsburgh Penguins players weren’t necessary Thursday.

But that didn’t mean UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex didn’t carry something of a long-lost-friends-meet-again vibe.

“It was probably the most excitement I’ve seen in the room in a while,” winger Bryan Rust said. “I think everybody’s excited to see each other again and get back to the rink and get ready to go for the last 32 games.”

The Penguins reconvened for practice Thursday after an nine-day break in conjunction with the All-Star Game and their scheduled annual bye week. While the prior week was a time for rest and relaxation for many Penguins players — Rust, for example, visited his parents’ new place in Naples, Fla. — Friday will begin a stretch of 14 games in 30 days.

It opens at home against the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:05 p.m. on Friday and includes two games each against Eastern Conference contenders Washington, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

“You’ve got take that as an opportunity to see where your team is at,” Rust said.

February will begin hours after the result against the Flyers is settled. It will end with the Penguins aboard a cross-country flight home from California.

What happens between now and then will have a profound effect on how the season will proceed.

And in stark contrast to their most recent game against the Flyers, the Penguins enter the back end of this long home-and-home well rested. A 3-0 loss to Philadelphia on Jan. 21 was the capper to an 11-games-in-20-days stretch.

“It was a big chunk of days off,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “So I think it was good to get away little bit and rest and recharge and get ready for big stretch of games the rest of the year.”

Several players balked at the suggestion the midseason sabbatical could have allowed rust to accumulate or slow their momentum. Though they went 17-5-1 in the quarter-season preceding the time off, the Penguins turned in one of their worst efforts of the season in the final game before the break.

“We didn’t feel good about that last game there in Philly, but prior to that, I think we played some pretty good hockey,” Crosby said. “So I think rebound from that and carry on the way we played up to this point.”

At 31-14-5, the Penguins have the fourth-most points in the league and trail only Washington and Boston in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins are six points behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division race. The teams have not yet met this season but play Sunday in Washington and three more times in March.

They have combined to win three of the past four Stanley Cup titles, but both lost in the first round last season. The Penguins have made their sweep at the hands of the New York Islanders last season seem like ancient history with their first 50 games of this season.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed by their veterans.

“When you come back (from a break), you appreciate what you’ve got in here, and you appreciate the opportunity you have in front of you,” winger Patric Hornqvist said. “We have a good team, and you don’t have many chances to make something special — and this group is good.”

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