Erik Karlsson at practice Sunday, Jan. 18
In somewhat of a surprise, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson joined his teammates for practice Sunday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, albeit in a white, non-contact jersey.
Karlsson went on IR six days earlier because of a lower-body injury, and at that time the team said he would be further evaluated in two weeks. Then he was back at practice in less than a week.
“No change in status, but it was good to have him out there,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said of Karlsson, who participated in all drills except a short-rink, limited-numbers scrimmage.
Muse said Karlsson would travel with the team on a four-game Western swing that begins Monday in Seattle.
Although it’s unlikely Karlsson or any player can will themselves to recovery more quickly from an injury, there is a time element for him. Not only would it help him and the team to get in some games before the Olympic break, but Karlsson also has been vocal about how much playing for Team Sweden will mean at the 2026 Games. NHL players will be participating for the first time since 2014.
Karlsson, 35, has four goals, 33 points in 44 games and has a minus-1 plus-minus after being minus-24 last season.
He has said he has used Olympics as a motivation in what has been a strong season for him, especially after he was not part of the initial six named to Team Sweden last summer. He was named to the squad when the full roster was announced last month.
Team Sweden’s first game is Feb. 11, so things could get tight in terms of timing. If Karlsson is still out, the Swedes could leave him home and name a replacement, or they could include him if it seems likely he would return early in the tournament.
Ryan Graves Back In?
There was one change the Penguins showed in practice — defenseman Ryan Graves skated on the third pairing with Connor Clifton. Ryan Shea had been skating with Clifton with Karlsson out. It’s unclear if the team will make that switch for Monday’s game.
Graves was sent to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in late December and was a healthy scratch the past three games since being recalled.
“Before he went down, he was playing pretty well,” Muse said. “He was playing pretty well. We were pretty happy with that pairing with him and (Clifton). We wanted it today in practice, and we’ll make some decisions for tomorrow.”
The lines and pairings looked like this:
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Brett Kulak-Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon-Ryan Shea
Jack St. Ivany-Erik Karlsson
Tags: Dan Muse erik karlsson Pittsburgh Penguins Shelly Anderson
Categorized: Pittsburgh Penguins