Injured winger Pascal Dupuis was a full participant in the Penguins’ morning skate today. He had skated on his own before practice on Friday, and may be available to play for the team when they host the New York Islanders tonight.
“Pascal skated this morning, so it’s a game time decision tonight,” Head Coach Mike Johnston said of Dupuis.
“I’m feeling much better than I did coming out of the game,” said Dupuis, “[There is] still a decision we have to make this afternoon with the coach and the trainers and see if I’ll be ready to go tonight.”
Dupuis was injured by a Kris Letang slap shot in the second period of Thursday night’s game against Dallas. He was in a vulnerable position on the ice after being crosschecked by Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski.
“I kind of got pushed from behind there, went down and I knew the puck was coming, so I tried to cover myself, but I left that back of my neck area kind of open, and the puck kind of dipped and hit me right there,” said Dupuis when asked to describe his injury, “I tried to get up and I couldn’t feel my arms and my extremities.”
Luckily, he appears to have escaped from the scary injury with no permanent damage. “Everything went numb, and it came back slowly, but it did come back and it’s fully back already,” he said.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The new-look Islanders have been on a roll to start the 2014-15 season, with victories in each of their first four games. Head Coach Jack Capuano’s squad has been filling the net with ease, and they average 4.5 goals per game, which is the best in the NHL.
They are led in scoring by team captain John Tavares, who has two goals and seven assists in four games. The team added defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy via trade just before the start of the season, in addition to signing free agent forwards Cory Conacher, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nikolai Kulemin earlier in the offseason.
Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Islanders. Halak is 3-0 with a .900 save percentage on the season. He is probably best known amongst Penguins fans for his stellar performance with the Montreal Canadiens that helped them eliminate the Penguins from the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2010.
PAIRING UP: The Penguins have adjusted their defensive pairings, with Olli Maatta moving up to the first pair with Kris Letang, and Christian Ehrhoff and Paul Martin manning the second pair.
Coach Johnston said of his revamped defensive pairs: “I think that Olli Maatta and Kris Letang, both of them can jump into the play, but at the same time, I think the biggest strength that they have is getting out of their own zone.”
The move also gives Martin, who is playing on the right side, but is a left-handed shot, a more experienced partner. “Martin is a real stable guy and Ehrhoff can jump into the play, so we’re trying to balance our pairs off a little bit,” Johnston said.
THE 4077: In addition to Dupuis, coach Johnston gave updates on the other injured Penguins. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo will begin practicing next week and winger Beau Bennett will join the team in another week to ten days. Bortuzzo is on the active roster and can return at any time. Bennett must wait until after the Penguins’ game against Buffalo on November 1 to be added to the roster.
Islanders forward Mikhail Grabovski was injured on Thursday and did not make the trip to Pittsburgh. The Russian center was hit by John Scott of the San Jose Sharks and did not return to the game. He will be replaced in the Islanders lineup by former Penguins forward Colin McDonald.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pengins (AHL) defeated the St. John’s IceCaps in overtime Friday night by a score of 2-1. Defenseman Reid McNeill scored the game-winner after winger Jayson Megna had tied the game in the third period. Jeff Zatkoff made 21 saves for the win.
The Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL open their season tonight against the Reading Royals. The Nailers will feature Penguins prospect Eric Hartzell and Pittsburgh-area native Tyler Murovich. Puck drop at WesBanco Arena is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
