LOS ANGELES — Excuse me, Evgeni Malkin, Justin Brazeau is supposed to be on the second power play.

Malkin did some double duty during power play drills Friday as the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced at Toyota Performance Sports Complex, the LA Kings’ practice facility near El Segundo.

After a pass through in which Malkin decided to take the high forward spot on both units, Brazeau got his turn to play, too. After two games in three days, the Penguins’ practice was quick, though not a high-intensity blitz.

Coach Dan Muse did a little bit of lineup tinkering with the forwards at the nearly 45-minute-long practice that began at 1 p.m. PT.

It would appear both rookies, Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke, were back in the regular line rotations, as was Filip Hallander.

With the tight travel schedule and acceptance of the travel media, Muse didn’t speak after practice, but his line combinations did the talking.

With Kindel back as the third line center, and Halladner’s solid performance Thursday against the LA Kings, Muse bumped Philip Tomasino from the projected lineup, and it would seem that Noel Acciari’s quality performance kept him in the stack.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Justin Brazeau

Tommy Novak-Ben Kindel-Filip Hallander

Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense

Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea-Kris Letang

Caleb Jones-Harrison Brunicke

Matt Dumba-Connor Clifton

Harrison Brunicke

Brunicke was a healthy scratch for the first time in his young career in Game 4, when the Penguins lost to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. While the move was part of the Penguins’ plan to keep Brunicke strong and fresh as the mere 19-year-old navigates his first professional season, the team didn’t necessarily clue him into the schedule.

To his credit, Brunicke had zero consternation or ill feelings when he spoke with Pittsburgh Hockey Now on Friday afternoon.

In fact, he used the game off to take notes on fellow right-handed defensemen Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang.

“Whenever you’re able to watch a game, pick things from different guys’ games, even watching the other team’s young D-men. You know, it’s always helpful,” Brunicke said.

“I watched (Kris Letang) and (Erik) Karlsson. More or less, the right-handed guys. Also, Olen Zellweger. I played juniors with him, and he can fly up and down the ice … I picked up on quicker puck decisions, quick play, stuff like that.”

Brunicke played well enough Thursday in the Penguins’ win over LA, and he quickly figured out that discretion is the better part of valor.

After a bit of chaos in the first period, in which the Penguins found themselves behind 2-0, Brunicke settled down and adjusted his game to the situation, especially after getting burned for a breakaway.

“I was very active in the first period (against LA). And then they started getting behind us a little bit. So then you’ve got to change,” said Brunicke. “And I thought in the second, there’s a little bit where I was in between, and where they were jumping and getting guys on me. So for the third, we played more defensively solid.”

The learning curve continues for Brunicke.

Tags: harrison brunicke Penguins lines Penguins Practice

Categorized: Penguins Practice