Teddy Blueger keeps putting in extra work to remain in Penguins' lineup
By the time the NHL season was halted March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese had a head start on everyone else.
He hasn’t played since suffering an undisclosed injury Feb. 16.
So the Penguins’ first week of training camp in Cranberry in preparation of the NHL’s postseason tournament has been the first chance he had to be reunited with linemates Brandon Tanev and Teddy Blueger — at least on the ice in a high-tempo setting.
“It’s been a while, but nothing has changed. (Tanev) is still yelling at everyone,” Aston-Reese joked.
And Blueger?
“Teddy’s still the same,” Aston-Reese said.
That is to say: a workaholic.
Sunday morning, Blueger, along with reserve forward Evan Rodrigues, worked for approximately 25 minutes after practice on faceoffs.
During a portion of that extended session, he took faceoffs with the knob of his stick, as opposed to the blade.
“Compared to a blade, you have a lot less of your stick on the ice,” Blueger said. “So the timing becomes important. It’s just a little drill just to get your timing back as far as meeting the puck at the right time when it hits the ice.”
That’s nothing out of the ordinary for Blueger. He usually is one of the final players to leave the ice after practices or morning skates. Typically, he will meticulously fine tune the details of his game.
“Yeah, he’s always been like that,” said Aston-Reese, who was a teammate with Blueger dating to their days with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2017. “I would stay out for an extra 20 or 30 (minutes) in Wilkes, and he would stay out 30 minutes after that.
“I just remember he would do this crazy thing in the gym where he would do a 10-minute ride (with an exercise bike) on like the highest gear. Just barely pedaling at all and he would do that for 10 minutes pretty much after every practice.
“He’s always had that mindset, and it’s been that way ever since I’ve been a Penguin.”
That mindset has made Blueger the centerpiece of the team’s effective fourth line.
“They’re a third line on a lot of teams in the NHL,” assistant coach Mark Recchi said. “They’re just a terrific line, and they’ve really built some chemistry through the course of the (season). The way (Mike Sullivan) uses his lines, he really relies on that so-called ‘fourth line’ to start a lot in the (defensive) zone.
“(Top centers Evgeni Malkin) and (Sidney Crosby), it gives them a break, so they’re starting in the offensive zone 80, 90% of the time, which is where we want them.”
During the regular season, Blueger led the Penguins in defensive zone faceoffs with 483. Forward Jared McCann was a distant second with 207.
“We want to bring the energy, outwork the other team,” Blueger said. “Recapture that game we had when we were at our best during the regular season. When we’re at our best, we’re supporting each other all over the ice. We’re hard to play against. We’re reliable defensively.”
Added Recchi: “They can play against any line. (Sullivan) trusts them and he believes in them. They push each other, and they demand each other to be good as a line. And it’s really fun to watch. When we had all of the injuries, they were kind of our identity: We were stingy defensively, but we still were able to score goals and create a lot of offense from just being tight defensively and playing the right way.”
During the 2019 postseason, Blueger, as a rookie, played in only one of the four games as the Penguins were swept in the first round by the New York Islanders.
Despite his success during the 2019-20 season and the role he has carved for himself, Blueger claims he still doesn’t feel his place in the lineup is guaranteed.
“A little bit different of a season for me this compared to last,” Blueger said. “But I think you’re never really secure. Competition is really high throughout this team and, obviously, great players down in Wilkes-Barre. Everyone is kind of champing at the bit to get in there. I don’t think really your place is ever really secure. There’s always someone fighting to take your place.
“The other side of that is, obviously, I’m fighting to take other guys’ spots too, higher up in the lineup. Everyone is battling for ice time. I do think, obviously, my role has been a little bit different this past year, but I don’t think that guarantees me anything moving forward. You’re always judged on your last game or your last practice.”
Or being the last to practice.
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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