PITTSBURGH — The Penguins will add two key cogs to their lineup on Saturday.
Sidney Crosby will make his season debut against the New Jersey Devils, coach Mike Sullivan said. The captain will be joined by fellow center Jeff Carter, who has not played since Oct. 19.
“It goes without saying, they offer us so much on both sides of the puck,” Sullivan said. “We’re just a much better hockey team when they’re in our lineup. We’re excited to have them back.”
Crosby was forced to miss the first seven games of the season after undergoing left wrist surgery on Sept. 8. He had been dealing with a nagging injury for seven seasons and, after exhausting non-invasive options, the star center and the club’s medical team decided that going under the knife was the prudent approach.
“We all felt like it was something I wouldn’t have gotten through the season if I didn’t take care of it,” Crosby said just over a week ago. “Unfortunately, I had to miss some time here early. The other side of it was missing a lot more games in the middle of the year. I’m glad we took care of it.”
During Friday’s practice, Crosby centered the top line with Jake Guentzel and Evan Rodrigues on his wings. He’s expected to skate in this same capacity on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, Carter is coming back from an asymptomatic case of COVID-19. He cleared the NHL’s 10-day isolation period to return to Friday for just one practice. However, because he was able to ride a bike and felt normal throughout, he evidently feels ready to jump right back into the lineup.
Carter centered the second line with Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen on his wings during Friday’s practice. Both centers were also part of the top power play, which also featured defenseman John Marino, Kapanen and Guentzel.
The return of the two centers is a much-needed jolt to an offense that has gone stagnant. In three of the previous four games, the Penguins scored just one goal or fewer. That includes Thursday, when they were shut out, 4-0, by the Calgary Flames and goaltender Jacob Markström.
Additionally, the additions of Crosby and Carter will create a ripple effect throughout the lineup. Based on Friday’s practice, the fourth line will now feature Brian Boyle skating between Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen. Most recently, O’Connor was centering the second line and Heinen was a winger on the top line. Now, those two players who are tied for the team lead with three goals each will be skating on the fourth line.
Sam Lafferty and Dominik Simon appear to be bumped into the press box as the healthy scratches.
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