CRANBERRY Twp., Pa. — With their first Stanley Cup Playoff game just days away, albeit yet unannounced, the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ full lineup got a couple of boosts at the team’s first postseason practice Thursday at the UPMC Lemieux Complex.
Blake Lizotte, who has been out for more than four weeks, and Connor Dewar, who has missed the last two weeks, were visibly full participants at practice, reuniting the Penguins team-defining fourth line with Noel Acciari.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now will update the story after practice when coach Dan Muse or the players provide official word on their status.
Muse also made one big change to the Penguins’ lines. Becoming the odd-man out was 6-foot-6, 227-poud Justin Brazeau, and in the lineup was 6-foot-8, 246-pound Elmer Soderblom.
Brazeau is pointless in his last seven games.
Soderblom, 24, has four goals with eight points in his last 10 games, and his increasingly become a physical presence. He scored a goal in the Penguins’ 7-5 loss to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday by using his size to go through a pair of defensemen, then stickhandled around goalie Jordan Binnington.
Those sorts of plays by Soderblom have increased, just as has his physical play.
Penguins Lines
Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak-Rickard Rakell-Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Soderblom-Ben Kindel-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kris Letang
Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton
Extras: Ryan Graves-Jack St. Ivany
Ilya Solovyov and Jake Livanavage did not take part in practice with the main group.
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Categorized:Penguins Notebook