There was a rare sight at the Penguins' practice Monday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins had full attendance -- not a single player missing. It was one of only a handful of practices this season in which that's been the case.
It was the first time Nick Bonino (lacerated kidney), Dmitry Kulikov (lower-body) and Marcus Pettersson (lower-body) had rejoined their teammates for practice, and they did so in a full-contact capacity. The Penguins could get as many as two of them back in the lineup for Tuesday's game at PPG Paints Arena against the Blackhawks.
All three of Bonino, Kulikov and Pettersson currently remain on long-term injured reserve. Bonino and Kulikov have already fulfilled the minimum requirements for days and games missed and are eligible to be activated at any time, while Pettersson has to miss one more game. He'll be eligible to return for the Penguins' regular-season finale in Columbus on Thursday at the earliest.
Indications from Monday's practice are that that Bonino and Kulikov are both ready to make their returns.
Bonino skated on the left side of the Penguins' fourth line alongside Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. He replaced Drew O'Connor, who looks to still be sidelined with the undisclosed injury he sustained in Thursday's game against the Wild. O'Connor participated in practice but in a non-contact capacity, suggesting that he's not quite ready to return to the lineup after missing Saturday's game in Detroit.
Kulikov skated on the left side of the Penguins' third pairing with Jan Rutta, making Mark Friedman the odd-man out on defense. Friedman skated on an extra fourth defense pairing with Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel rotating.
Bonino, Kulikov, Pettersson and O'Connor all participated in the special teams portion of practice, rotating in with the different penalty-killing units.
Mike Sullivan wouldn't say one way or the other whether Bonino or Kulikov were ready to return.
"We'll see where these guys are tomorrow, and we'll make decisions accordingly with the help of our medical staff," he said.
If you ask either player, it sounds like they're feeling good enough to play.
"I wasn't expecting it to be so much better at four weeks, but it's feeling really good right now," Kulikov said of his status. "I skated with the team today, I think I'm right on schedule. ... I think it's been fine with the doctors, meeting with them the whole time. Tomorrow's game is a game I could come back. I'm feeling pretty good, I'm feeling confident."
Bonino sounded less sure of his status, but encouraged nonetheless.
"I feel great," Bonino said. "They put together a really good plan for me. It's not something that happens every day to NHL guys. I was able to rest and have some stuff done there. Got some workouts in, now I'm finally on the ice. I feel really good fitness-wise, just kind of waiting for things internally to fully patch up, I think. ... Right now I'm cleared for these skates, and this is my first time with the full team. I think as this week progresses, I've got to do some stuff with the doctors to decide (if he's cleared to play). That's what I'm cleared for now, hopefully it's games as the week goes on."
Both Kulikov and Bonino were acquired by the Penguins at the March 3 trade deadline, and neither had much time to get settled in with their new team before they had to come out of the lineup. Bonino only played in three games before suffering his lacerated kidney on March 9 against the Islanders, and Kulikov only played in four games before his injury on March 12 against the Rangers.
"It was as frustrating as it could have been," Bonino said. "You leave your family (in San Jose), come out, excited to get here, play three games then effectively sit on the couch for three weeks with zero anything, can't do anything physical. I'm happy to be back, moving around, playing hockey again and I'm looking forward to the future."
Kulikov was also frustrated after coming from Anaheim and promptly having to sit.
"It's tough," Kulikov said. "It's unfortunate this injury happened. It's a long time to sit and watch the team and not be able to help your teammates. That's the tough part. But at the same time, I believe the group can do the job. There's nothing else you can do than work on getting back into game shape and work on rehabbing the injury to get back and ready to go."
The Penguins' depth has been tested over the last several weeks with the injuries they've had, especially on the blue line. The Penguins are finally getting healthy again, and they're doing so in the most crucial stretch of the entire season.
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• The Penguins sent Alex Nylander back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday afternoon. He was up on an emergency recall, so if Bonino is going to return, the Penguins would have had to send him back or use their last standard recall to keep him.
• These were the full lines and pairings used:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen - Ryan Poehling - Mikael Granlund
Nick Bonino - Jeff Carter - Josh Archibald
(Drew O'Connor)
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
P.O Joseph - Jeff Petry
Dmitry Kulikov - Jan Rutta
Marcus Pettersson - Mark Friedman/Chad Ruhwedel
• The first power play unit remained Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Rickard Rakell.
• The second power play unit remained Jeff Petry, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter.
• In the least-surprising news of the year, Letang is the Penguins' nominee for the Masterton Trophy as voted on by the members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Danny has more on Letang's reaction here, and I have a separate story on how Dejan, Danny and I filled out our three-person ballots.
• Former Penguins Patric Hornqvist (Panthers), Brandon Tanev (Kraken), Phil Kessel (Golden Knights) and Derick Brassard (Senators) are all also the Masterton nominees for their teams.
• The Penguins announced their team awards after practice. Crosby was named team MVP for the 11th time in his career, an award voted on by the players. Only Mario Lemieux (12) has been named team MVP more times in franchise history. P.O Joseph was selected as rookie of the year. Crosby, Letang and Zucker were tied for the Players' Player Award, an award voted on by teammates for the player who best exemplifies leadership for the team on and off the ice and is dedicated to teamwork. This is the fifth time Crosby has won the award, and the first time for both Letang and Zucker.
• No surprise who Malkin voted for on his MVP ballot. When Crosby walked in the room after practice, Malkin was hyping him up with "MVP! MVP!" chants from across the locker room.
• I spoke with a couple of players about the upcoming two games against teams toward the bottom of the league's standings in the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets and how the Penguins aren't underestimating them. More on that here.
• Tristan Jarry's win Saturday in Detroit was his 117th career win, tying Matt Murray for the third-most by a goaltender in team history. Only Marc-Andre Fleury (375) and Tom Barrasso (226) have more.
• It was team picture day before practice:
PENGUINS / TWITTER
Noted good guys Friedman, Archibald, Ryan Poehling, Brian Dumoulin and Zucker helped the arena workers dismantle the set before going off to change into their practice gear.
• Rakell reports that his nine-month old daughter Daisy was totally fearless when she met the Easter Bunny for the first time this week. Not a single tear shed, and she tried stealing the glasses off of his face:
RICKARD RAKELL / INSTAGRAM
Rickard, Daisy and Emmeli Rakell
