Things got heated for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, and words were exchanged.<\/p>\n
The team was broken up into two squads for a practice session in Cranberry. One unit wore black jerseys and the other yellow.<\/p>\n
During the final drill \u2014 a short-area two-on-two scrimmage \u2014 the yellow squad appeared to score the winning goal, and several members of that outfit skated to center ice to begin stretching, the final portion of the formal practice.<\/p>\n
But the players in black protested, citing a violation of rules. And coaches were sympathetic to their case.<\/p>\n
Thus, the drill was restarted and competition ensued. Defenseman Ryan Shea appeared to score the winning goal, prompting a group hug around Shea and celebrations among the black team. As that went on, forward Blake Lizotte, a member of the yellow team, threw his stick down the ice to protest the outcome before stretching once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust some rules within the game that we play,\u201d Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said with a smirk. \u201cThere was some debate over whether the rules were broken or not. It turned out the goal was overturned. Then, black won. That\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the calendar flipped to November, the Penguins have been in the red as far as wins and losses go. They are 2-4-3 over their past nine games and have tumbled in the standings after a strong start in October when they raced out to an 8-2-2 mark.<\/p>\n
A fun but highly competitive practice, such as they had Monday, is vital for emerging from this skid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d defenseman Parker Wotherspoon said. \u201cObviously, it doesn\u2019t feel good to lose those games. Guys are a little bit down. But when you have something like that, bringing everyone together in a huddle, guys love to compete against each other. It\u2019s fun to watch. It makes some guys mad but it makes some guys smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good team stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
What hasn\u2019t been good for the team has been health.<\/p>\n
The Penguins currently have seven players on injured reserve, including two top-six wingers (Justin Brazeau and Rickard Rakell), their potential immediate replacements (Filip Hallander and Ville Koivunen) and their most established goaltender (Tristan Jarry). Throw in a sturdy fourth-liner (Noel Acciari) and a reserve defenseman (Caleb Jones), and nearly half a full lineup is in a state of convalescence.<\/p>\n
(Additionally, top-line right winger Bryan Rust was absent from Monday\u2019s practice because of an illness.)<\/p>\n
Not coincidentally, many of those ailments have happened over this past nine-game stretch of mostly losses.<\/p>\n
As the oft-used cliche goes, no one wants to use injuries as an excuse. But it\u2019s difficult to deny the reality that they are a reason the Penguins haven\u2019t as good as of late.<\/p>\n
As such, the Penguins have needed to alter their approach with a lesser lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to adjust,\u201d coach Dan Muse said. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s usage, potentially. You\u2019re adjusting in terms of special teams. You have to now put guys in some different positions that way. You\u2019re making sure guys are up to speed where even if they\u2019re not taking on the same amounts of minutes as the player they\u2019re replacing, that they are in a position where they\u2019re going to be able to contribute in some of those areas as well. There is some of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the end, this is part of our game. You\u2019ve got to be ready here for the next man up. You\u2019ve got to make sure you\u2019re finding a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Muse\u2019s ways to find a course correction is to stage practices such as the one that was held Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that\u2019s the way he came in Pittsburgh, with the mentality of (having) competition every single practice,\u201d defenseman Kris Letang said of the first-year coach. \u201cWhether it\u2019s the drills at the beginning, scoring goals, or at the end, we\u2019ll play some two-on-two, three-on-three, four-on-four, any types of games. He wants us to keep scoring and be competitive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he\u2019s been doing since training camp. I like that he applies that during the season also.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muse, who was highly critical of the team following Saturday\u2019s 3-2 overtime home loss to the Seattle Kraken, did quite a bit of yelling during Monday\u2019s session.<\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t shouting. He was instructing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just tries to bring tons of energy,\u201d Letang said. \u201cHe wants to have energy. He wants us to be competitive within the group. That\u2019s good that we still have that. We don\u2019t want that to fade away.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Penguins host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday for their traditional Thanksgiving \u201ceve\u201d home game. But before that, they will presumably have another fun but highly competitive practice Tuesday in Cranberry.<\/p>\n
In their estimation, that is how they will emerge from their doldrums.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been maybe harder for games lately, so we\u2019re trying to make it a little bit more joyful and work hard,\u201d forward Anthony Mantha said. \u201cThe competition helps for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to get that competition level higher in practice, it translates into games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes: Rookie forward Tristan Broz was recalled from Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Meanwhile, veteran forward Philip Tomasino was assigned to Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton under normal conditions while rookie defensemen Harrison Brunicke and Jack St. Ivany were sent to the AHL club for conditioning assignments. \u2026 Jarry and Koivunen each participated in Monday\u2019s practice in full-contact capacities. \u2026 The Penguins signed defensive prospect Peyton Kettles to a three-year entry-level contract.<\/p>\n