CRANBERRY, Pa. — With a lot of roster change in the previous 24 hours, the Pittsburgh Penguins got to experiment a little at practice Wednesday at the UPMC Lemeiux Sports Complex. One of the more interesting looks involved precocious rookie Ben Kindel .
Kindel moved to left wing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust . He may or may not line up there Thursday when the Penguins host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals .
To this point, Kindel has been centering the third line, but coach Dan Muse said Kindel has slipped onto the wing a little bit at times, enough to make the coaches feel comfortable giving him a look there at practice.
"It's something we wanted to look at. Another option," Muse said.
And something Kindel took to heart.
"I'm very honored and grateful," Kindel said of getting a shot to play alongside Crosby.
Kindel has five goals in 12 games. Additionally, he has looked poised and not in the least out of place in the NHL.
Crosby said Kindel brings "a lot of speed, skates really well and competes hard on pucks."
No Word on Brunicke
Rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke has played nine games. A 10thwould trigger his entry-level contract's first season. He could be returned to juniors, or that decision could be put off if he is a healthy scratch Thursday against Washington. He took reps at practice Wednesday with Matt Dumba , but it's unclear whether that was the third or fourth pairing.
"We're continuing to evaluate and go through things. We're still in that process," Muse said.
Further Injury News
Muse confirmed that goaltender Tristan Jarry , who went on IR a day earlier, got hurt Monday during the Penguins' 5-4 loss at Toronto .
Forward Kevin Hayes , who has been out since training camp, could be close. He took some turns during line rushes at practice.
Also on injured reserve before Tuesday's moves were winger Rickard Rakell and defenseman Caleb Jones . In addition, promising rookie Rutger McGroarty has been out all season. There have not been updates on them recently.
Penguins Lines, Pairings
There were some new looks at practice, including some of the aforementioned ones. That was by design given the team's schedule.
"The lines, the way we had them there in practice was something we wanted to see, some different combinations," Muse said. "But also having a good practice. It feels like it's been a while since we had a REAL practice. We felt like we were able to get in some things that were good for everybody – for the guys who have been here all year, and some stuff for the guys coming in.
"Put lines together and pairs together and give them a little bit of time. We were able to get that. We'll talk through some things as a staff based on what we saw and make some final decisions for (Thursday)."
Here is how they looked:
Ben Kindel -Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Tommy Novak
Ville Koivunen-Danton Heinen-Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Filip Hallander/Kevin Hayes
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Matt Dumba-Harrison Brunicke
The post Penguins Notebook: Kindel Moves Up; Brunicke Decision Looms; More Injury Details appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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