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Pittsburgh Penguins Ben Kindel. (Photo by Jeanine Leech\/Icon Sportswire)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPittsburgh Penguins Ben Kindel. (Photo by Jeanine Leech\/Icon Sportswire)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
CRANBERRY, Pa. \u2014 With a lot of roster change<\/a> in the previous 24 hours, the Pittsburgh Penguins got to experiment a little at practice Wednesday at the UPMC Lemeiux Sports Complex. One of the more interesting looks involved precocious rookie Ben Kindel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kindel moved to left wing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. He may or may not line up there Thursday when the Penguins host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n To this point, Kindel has been centering the third line, but coach Dan Muse said Kindel has slipped onto the wing a little bit at times, enough to make the coaches feel comfortable giving him a look there at practice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something we wanted to look at. Another option,\u201d Muse said.<\/p>\n And something Kindel took to heart.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very honored and grateful,\u201d Kindel said of getting a shot to play alongside Crosby.<\/p>\n Kindel has five goals in 12 games. Additionally, he has looked poised and not in the least out of place in the NHL.<\/p>\n Crosby said Kindel brings \u201ca lot of speed, skates really well and competes hard on pucks.\u201d<\/p>\n No Word on Brunicke<\/p>\n Rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke has played nine games. A 10th would trigger his entry-level contract\u2019s first season. He could be returned to juniors, or that decision could be put off if he is a healthy scratch Thursday against Washington. He took reps at practice Wednesday with Matt Dumba, but it\u2019s unclear whether that was the third or fourth pairing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re continuing to evaluate and go through things. We\u2019re still in that process,\u201d Muse said.<\/p>\n Further Injury News<\/p>\n Muse confirmed that goaltender Tristan Jarry<\/a>, who went on IR a day earlier, got hurt Monday during the Penguins\u2019 5-4 loss at Toronto.<\/p>\n Forward Kevin Hayes, who has been out since training camp, could be close. He took some turns during line rushes at practice.<\/p>\n Also on injured reserve before Tuesday\u2019s moves were winger Rickard Rakell and defenseman Caleb Jones. In addition, promising rookie Rutger McGroarty has been out all season. There have not been updates on them recently.<\/p>\n Penguins Lines, Pairings<\/p>\n There were some new looks at practice, including some of the aforementioned ones. That was by design given the team\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cThe lines, the way we had them there in practice was something we wanted to see, some different combinations,\u201d Muse said. \u201cBut also having a good practice. It feels like it\u2019s been a while since we had a REAL practice. We felt like we were able to get in some things that were good for everybody \u2013 for the guys who have been here all year, and some stuff for the guys coming in.<\/p>\n \u201cPut lines together and pairs together and give them a little bit of time. We were able to get that. We\u2019ll talk through some things as a staff based on what we saw and make some final decisions for (Thursday).\u201d<\/p>\n Here is how they looked:<\/p>\n Ben Kindel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust<\/p>\n Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Tommy Novak<\/p>\n Ville Koivunen-Danton Heinen-Philip Tomasino<\/p>\n Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Filip Hallander\/Kevin Hayes<\/p>\n Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n Ryan Shea-Kris Letang<\/p>\n Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton<\/p>\n Matt Dumba-Harrison Brunicke<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: ben kindel<\/a> harrison brunicke<\/a> kevin hayes<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> Shelly Anderson<\/a> Sidney Crosby<\/a> Tristan Jarry<\/a> <\/p>\n