On Friday, Juuso Riikola found himself in a unfamiliar position with which he has grown familiar.

During a 5-2 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the second-year defenseman was pressed into service as a fourth-line winger for the fourth time this season.

He didn’t really do much of note as he logged 7 minutes, 25 seconds of ice time on the night over 11 shifts and failed to put a shot on net.

Much like his first three games of the season up front, Riikola moved up Friday because of injuries to the incumbent forwards, namely Bryan Rust, who was hobbled during the morning skate.

“You need to do what the coach asks you to do,” Riikola said. “That’s why I’ve been playing forward a couple of games. I can tell you that’s not my favorite thing to play forward, but sometimes you need to do what the team needs you to do.”

Even in the seven games Riikola has played on the blue line, he hasn’t truly been at his position. The left-handed Riikola primarily has been used on his off side by playing the right portion of a third pairing with Jack Johnson.

Two months into the 2019-20 campaign, Riikola might finally get a chance to be what he is.

A left-side defenseman.

With Brian Dumoulin, another left-handed defenseman, sidelined for at least eight weeks following ankle surgery, Riikola almost is assured of finally playing the left side.

It remains to be seen with whom Riikola will be paired. On Monday in Cranberry, the Penguins rotated their remaining healthy defensemen. One duo included Riikola with all-star Kris Letang, a right-handed shot.

“It’s nice to play with him,” Riikola said. “He’s so good with the puck and making plays. For me, it was easy to play with him.”

“He’s been in and out of the lineup, and that’s never an easy challenge for a player,” coach Mike Sullivan said of Riikola. “The last time he was in (on defense), we played him on his off side. That’s not the most comfortable position. (Playing on the left side) allows him to play to his strengths. To have him on his natural side is a great opportunity for Juuso. He’s a guy that we think we can plug into the lineup that can help us in a number of different ways. He’s a mobile guy, he gets to pucks quickly, he makes good outlet passes, he sees the ice really well, he can help us on the power play, he’s got a good shot from the offensive blue line. S0 there’s a lot of areas that we think Juuso can help us. This is a good opportunity for Juuso to step up.”

Another possibility, at least based on the rotation displayed Monday, would be left-hander Marcus Petterson skating with Letang. Pettersson primarily has skated with Justin Schultz, a right-shot, on the second pair this season. Schultz has missed the past six games because of an undisclosed ailment.

“I played maybe half a game with Kris,” Pettersson said. “We’ve just got to do everything we can. It doesn’t matter who you play with at this time.”

Regardless of how the pairings shake out, replacing the 6-foot-4 Dumoulin is a tall task.

“He’s one of the backbones of this team,” Pettersson said. “It’s going to be a tough spot to fill for him because you know what you get from him every night. He’s so consistent. Him and (Letang) often play a lot of big numbers. It’s going to be a big hole to fill. But I feel like this group, we’re up for a challenge. We’ve been through this before with injuries. We know that we have to come together as a group even more and play our structure even more. As long as we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win. We’ve got skill in here even with the players that are out. It’s going to be tough stretch of games here, but I feel like we’re up for a challenge.”

Beyond Dumoulin’s obvious physical attributes, the absence of his voice will leave a considerable void. He has developed into one of the team’s most vocal entities on and off the ice.

“A lot of people don’t see the stuff he does off the ice, really bringing the team together and his presence in the locker room,” rookie defenseman John Marino said. “He’s always communicating with you. He lets you play your game. If we get penned in on the defensive zone, he keeps everyone calm on the bench. He’s pretty vocal like that. We’re going to miss him in that role, too.”

Regardless of who tries to fill in for Dumoulin, the Penguins’ predicament, while daunting, isn’t complicated.

“We don’t have many guys (healthy) right now,” Riikola said. “We just need to play.”

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