UPDATED: Nedeljkovic Back; Penguins Taking All 3 Goalies on Trip

The Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday recalled goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from his conditioning assignment with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and he not only participated in practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, but he also will accompany the team on its four-game trip through Western Canada.

After rehabbing from a preseason injury, Nedeljkovic played in one game for WBS,  making 33 saves Friday night in a 4-3 win over Lehigh Valley.

He joined Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist to make it three goalies in practice, and coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that all three will be on the trip that begins Sunday in Winnipeg. How that will play out among the three and who gets the starts will certainly be something to watch.

Nedeljkovic got hurt during the preseason and has not played in an NHL game this season. Rookie Joel Blomqvist has stolen the show, going 2-2-0 with a .908 save percentage and 3.16 goals-against average.

Then there’s Tristan Jarry, a former All-Star whose contract would indicate he is the No. 1 goaltender. But he got displaced by Nedejlkovic down the stretch last season and has struggled in two of of three starts this season, going 1-1-0 with an .836 save percentage and 5.47 goals-against average.

Sullivan did not name a starter for Sunday, but he did give Jarry a bit of a vote of confidence.

“It’s still so early in the season,” Sullivan said. “There’s so much runway in front of us. … We’re going to support these guys through the process. But it’s so early in the season, it’s not like there’s a significant body of work at this part of the season. (Jarry) put a lot of work in in the offseason. He did come into camp on terrific shape. We all feel strongly that that will serve him well in … working his way into capturing his best game.”

Jarry is keeping a positive outlook after his start this season has not been the bounce-back he might have wanted.

“It’s about a new mindset,” he said. “It’s a new season. I think that’s just a reset. You can’t dwell on what happened last season. You just have to learn from it and be better

“I think it’s something that when I get through this and when I’m over this hump, I will be better for it.”

Nedeljkovic, meanwhile, said he is 100 percent and had a good experience Friday playing for WBS.

“It felt good. It was nice,” he said. “I saw a little bit of everything. It was the kind of game you would want.”

Not only did Nedeljkovic face several different situations in the game, but he also took a shot at a goalie goal late in the game. He said it made it through until the last guy to beat got to the puck.

A three-goalie roster is usually not ideal. Nedeljkovic offered his assessment:

“It is what it is,” he said. “You can look at it a couple different ways. I view it as there are three guys here that are deserving of the net, that are pushing each other every single day. Joel obviously has made it a very difficult decision for the staff to see which way we go. It’s not a negative on anybody, it’s not a knock on anything; it’s just he’s playing really well, and right now we want to win and we need points, and the best guy that’s going to give us the best chance to win is going to get the net.

“It’s not ideal when it comes to practice, but we’ve got plenty of ice before and afterward to work on things. So you know what? It is what it is.”