Penguins Wrap: Evaluating Games; Power Play; What of Karlsson?

The past week took the Pittsburgh Penguins through the heart of training camp as they got ready to embark on a two-game weekend swing of preseason games at Detroit and in Sudbury, Ontario, to face Ottawa in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game. Questions have begun to be answered, but many remain.

We got a first look at the power play, albeit without Erik Karlsson, whose injury absence is beginning to become more of a story. We are also starting to get a read on several players and how they are performing.

PHN had you covered over the important past week. Click the links to catch up. For stories that are designated as PHN+, use coupon code Shelly10 to subscribe for ad-free and premium content.

Sunday: Coming off a tough loss in a game that featured many Penguins prospects against many Buffalo regulars, it was a good time to look at where things stood. Jesse Puljujarvi’s and Rutger McGroarty’s stock were up, Joel Blomqvist’s was down. That and much more in Dan Kingerski’s Q&A.

Monday: Other things could be gleaned off the lopsided loss in the opening preseason game. Primarily, how did/will the Penguins prospects in that game react?

At practice, the Penguins showed the first looks at the power play units using mostly returning players. New assistant David Quinn will oversee the units after a poor performance last season. It also became clear that there will be jobs open on defense. Check out the PHN notebook.

Tuesday: Another preseason game against Buffalo, this one at home. And another loss, but this time in a game where both teams dressed  fair amount of prospects. Coach Mike Sullivan’s intermission team address played a part. Relive the good and the bad.

Wednesday: Kevin Hayes is a veteran who needs to get his top game back. Avery Hayes, no relation, is a prospect who has garnered some attention. Here’s a look at both players named Hayes.

With one practice group seeming to resemble what the Penguins season lineup might look like, Drew O’Connor was back on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. We catch up with O’Connor.

The Penguins sent a couple players back to their junior teams. That’s a standard thing during training camp. However, one in particular might have turned more heads if he had not had an injury setback. We haven’t seen the last of Tanner Howe.

Thursday: The day-to-day status of defenseman Erik Karlsson is growing cloudy, especially since he has skated separately from practice some days, but has been held off the ice other days. Will he be ready for the season opener? Coach Mike Sullivan offered an update on Karlsson.

In their last practice before heading out on their two-game weekend, the Penguins continued to use one practice group that seemed to foreshadow their opening-night look in terms of forward lines and defensive pairings. One glaring observation saw a move down to the group of prospects and minor leaguers for top prospect Rutger McGroarty.

While the fourth line is still a work in progress, the pair of Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari have seemed to click. They bring an element many have thought the Penguins lacked — sandpaper on that line.

With back-to-back games, the Penguins had to take a rather large group to Detroit. However, with camp starting Saturday for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, the Penguins did get down to 52 players with a round of roster cuts.

Friday: Lars Eller might well settle back into his familiar role of third-line center. He had some thoughts on being in a contract year, being a leader in the locker room and coming off a highly satisfying event late in the summer. PHN had a good conversation with Eller.

With the games this weekend perhaps having a large say in who makes the regular-season roster, PHN took a look at the camps that several players have had so far, including Puljujarvi, McGroarty, Jack St. Ivany, Valtteri Puustinen and others. See whose stock is up or down.