Friday afternoon brought a pair of familiar faces back to the ice in Cranberry as the Pittsburgh Penguins conducted practice.
Defenseman Erik Karlsson and forward Rickard Rakell rejoined the club after representing Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which Canada won 3-2 in overtime Thursday night over the U.S.
From fan engagement to impressive TV ratings, on-ice intensity and overall competitiveness, the best-on-best tournament appears to have been a smashing success.
“I think everyone had a lot of fun,” Karlsson said. “I watched most of the games that I didn’t play in, and I enjoyed watching it. It sounded like most of the people did, too. Obviously, the product on the ice is what drives it, and I think every game was really good and high-intensity.
“Even the game we played against the U.S. (on Feb. 17) that didn’t mean anything, I think it was a good game and definitely worth the (price of) admission.”
Rakell, a last-minute replacement on Team Sweden because of an injury to the Vegas Golden Knights’ William Karlsson, relished the opportunity to represent his country.
“I think it was a great experience for everyone,” Rakell said. “I think everyone was surprised at how much fun it was playing, the competitiveness and everything. I had a blast being there, for sure.”
But now, for Rakell, Karlsson and the Penguins, it’s back to business, with their first post-break contest at 3 p.m. Saturday at home vs. the Washington Capitals.
It remains to be seen whether Sidney Crosby, who captained Canada to the gold medal Thursday while nursing a suspected arm injury, will suit up.
Coach Mike Sullivan labeled Crosby as a probable game-time decision following practice Friday, noting the 37-year-old was “feeling good” in the aftermath of the tournament.
“In my short conversations with him, he felt pretty good from a health standpoint,” Sullivan said.
With or without Crosby, the Penguins (23-25-9, 55 points) now re-enter the battle for the playoffs.
Entering Saturday, the Penguins are six points out of wild-card position in the Eastern Conference.
That mirrors the situation Pittsburgh found itself in the past two seasons, which ultimately ended short of the postseason, and players hope to bring a sense of urgency starting Saturday.
“I think our playoffs start right now,” Rakell said. “We played desperate for the last few weeks here before the break, so we’ve got to try to use this break to our advantage and just keep pushing.”
Saturday begins a clip of four straight games vs. Metropolitan Division opponents, with Washington (36-11-8) set to arrive at PPG Paints Arena with the most points in the East. The Penguins went 4-5-1 over their last 10 games entering the 4 Nations break, but for Karlsson, there were elements of the team’s overall performance to like.
“I think we played pretty good getting into the break,” Karlsson said. “Hopefully, we can sustain that a little bit, play the same way and move this group forward. We can’t look too far ahead. It’s going to be a good game (Saturday) I think — first game in awhile for a lot of guys. Same for (Washington). Hopefully, we can keep taking strides forward.”
Sullivan is under no illusions as to the Penguins’ decreasing runway with only 25 regular-season games remaining.
Nor is he oblivious to the kind of uphill battle, which would require the Penguins to leapfrog six other clubs to get in wild-card position.
“I just think we’ve got to stay in the moment,” Sullivan said. “We can’t dwell on any circumstances on where we are or where we sit in the standings. We’ve just got to take each game as it comes and put our best game on the ice. If we stay in the moment, focus on the details, we bring the right energy and intentions, that’s going to give us the best chance to win.”
