CRANBERRY — The Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped a full morning skate Thursday, following their offday on Wednesday, and did so with a couple of new faces in the lineup. And plenty of changes to compensate for Bryan Rust’s three-game suspension.

McGroarty, 21, will play in place of the suspended Rust. Based on coach Dan Muse’s early line combos at the skate, there will be a trio of changes. First, Muse flipped Justin Brazeau to the top line right wing in place of Rust.

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McGroarty will take the third-line spot beside Ben Kindel, vacated by Brazeau, and Muse flipped Anthony Mantha to the right side.

McGroarty admittedly needs a bit more offense to stick in the NHL, beginning with his latest, albeit likely short, stay with the Penguins.

This season, McGroarty has played 16 NHL games and largely acquitted himself well, though his offensive totals are paltry. His NHL run ended when Evgeni Malkin’s return from a shoulder injury coincided with him suffering a concussion.

When McGroarty was ready to return, the Penguins reassigned him to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It’s been a bit of a yo-yo season for McGroarty, who has been back and forth from WBS, as he is still putting the puzzle together.

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“I think, more in the (AHL), it’s kind of just like (working on) puck possession and on my balance down low, and just continuing just to control the play with the puck,” McGroarty said. “And be really good without the puck, and then continue to work on PK and the power play. I mean, honestly, at this age, I’m just trying to grow my game all around. There are definitely things that I know I have to work on that are my main focuses, but at this age, I’m just trying to circle everything.”

Fortunately for player and team, there is little doubt McGroarty will soon claim a full-time ride in the big show. He just has to keep working on a few things.

“I think the guy is getting chances. I think whenever you’re looking at a player, you’re looking at: are you getting into certain areas? Are you getting the chances? I’ve said that with other guys … I think it’s like, are you getting into the areas where you know you have the ability to create?” Muse said. “He creates right around the net. He’s got a heavy shot, he’s got a good release. You’ve seen that this year. He got the ability to score from a little bit on the outside and from distance.

“And I think it’s all about just that consistency of putting yourself in good areas … I think it’s finding those little things like changing the angle at the last second. It’s maybe getting that release off a little bit quicker. Maybe it’s putting yourself in those spots, in those areas, a little bit faster.”

Ilya Solovyov

The Penguins acquired the big-boned defenseman from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for minor-league forward Valtteri Puustinen more than a week ago, and Solovyov will most likely make his Penguins debut Thursday.

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Solovyov, at 6oot-3, 207 pounds, will take the third pairing left side, with Ryan Shea moving to the right.

“He’s a guy that we’re excited to see. He’s a guy that we traded for–from what I’ve seen, from what the organization has seen, he’s a guy that we feel like there’s some elements there, from a physicality standpoint, from a defending standpoint, from a puck moving standpoint,” said Muse. “Obviously, we were excited to bring him into the organization. And so it’s finding the right time and right opportunity to get him in.”

Solovyov, 25, was in good spirits Thursday. Muse held him out of the lineup on the road trip while he got acclimated to his new team and system. It seems Thursday is go time.

“I’m really excited. Like it’s almost … honestly, I can’t wait to step on the ice with this group of guys. It’s unbelievable,” Solovyov said. “It’s been almost a week. So, yeah, you’ve got to expect it’s going to be a little bit harder for me for the first few minutes, but I have to be dialed in and putting everything on the board.”

With some irony, Solovyov has a nearly identical stat line to McGroarty, with one goal and two assists in 16 NHL games this season. He had split time between Colorado and their AHL affiliate before the trade.

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The post Penguins Notebook: Lines Shuffled, McGroarty’s Work, & Solovyov Debut appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

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