CRANBERRY, Pa. -- More than a few people were surprised when Brandon Tanev opened Penguins training camp on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Alex Galchenyuk.
Tanev apparently was one of them. He didn't have an inkling that he'd be working on the No. 2 line, at least in the early days of the preseason, until he reported for the start of drills Friday.
"They put a jersey in your stall and you're told who to go out there with," he said.
Tanev said that when he was with Winnipeg, he filled a top-six role "here and there," but generally was used in "more of a checking-line role."
That's how he was expected to be deployed with the Penguins because, while Tanev skates well enough to be effective with Malkin and Galchenyuk, little in his history suggests he can produce points the way most top-six wingers would be expected to. He had career-highs in goals (14), assists (15) and points (29) in 80 games with the Jets in 2018-19. Not bad numbers for a blue-collar forward, but not the kind associated with someone playing on one of the top lines.
Mike Sullivan, though, made it clear after practice that Tanev's contribution shouldn't be measured solely in offensive statistics. And that, while Tanev's place with Malkin and Galchenyuk isn't guaranteed, he'll have an opportunity to show that he can be effective there.
"One of the things we like about him is that he has a real conscientious 200-foot game," Sullivan said. "He can really skate, he has a physical edge to his game, he's good on the forecheck. We think he can force turnovers, create loose-puck opportunities for a player like (Malkin). And he's good at both ends of the rink. He could be a guy who could be complementary of (Malkin) and Alex. We thought we would try him through the course of training camp and see where it goes."
The Penguins signed Tanev, an unrestricted free agent, to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $3.5 million in July. While the contract terms they offered obviously were critical in his decision to sign here, Tanev said he also considered how his game would mesh with the Penguins' needs.
"Obviously, you want the right fit," he said. "I felt that Pittsburgh was the right fit for me."
Tanev will have a chance before this camp is over to prove that being on the No. 2 line is, as well.
Also today:
• Team 2 defeated Team 3, 2-1, in the daily scrimmage. Jon Lizotte and Jake Lucchini got the goals for the winners, while Dominik Simon scored for Team 3 on a deft deflection after the goalie had been pulled during the final minute of the scrimmage. Lizotte, who is under contract to the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre, was a late addition to the training-camp roster after a solid performance in the prospects tournament in Buffalo last weekend.
• While it's premature to read too much into most personnel combinations, the defense pairing of Marcus Pettersson and Justin Schultz is one new grouping that might be used in the regular season if it proves to be effective during camp. Pettersson, who was used mostly with Erik Gudbranson on the No. 3 pairing late last season, said he does not plan to adjust his style if he works alongside Schultz. "I don't think they want me to," he said. "I'm here for a reason, to play my game, and that's what I'm going to do."
• Sullivan, on talk by some Penguins veterans that the team's core has "three or four" years left to contend for Stanley Cups: "The way I look at it is, we have a great opportunity this season, and I'm not looking beyond it. ... These guys are still really good hockey players. They're still on top of their own respective games, so I'm really not concerned about three or four years from now. I'm concerned about this year, and I think we have a great opportunity with this group of players."
• Here are line combinations and defense pairings used during the scrimmage, although Team 3 juggled the makeup of its forward units because it has 13 forwards:
TEAM 2
Alex Galchenyuk-Evgeni Malkin-Brandon Tanev
Adam Johnson/Jake Lucchini-Teddy Blueger-Bryan Rust
Joseph Cramrossa-Joe Blandisi-Ryan Haggerty
Brian Dumoulin-Calen Addison
Matt Abt-Jon Lizotte
Kevin Czuczman-Erik Gudbranson.
TEAM 3
Jared McCann-Nick Bjugstad-Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Simon-Andrew Agozzino-Nathan Legare
Thomas DiPauli-Oula Palve-Kasper Bjorkqvist
Marcus Pettersson-Justin Schultz
Jusso Riikola-Zach Trotman
Michael Kim-Niclas Almari
• Team 3 goalie Tristan Jarry stopped Malkin on a penalty shot awarded after Malkin was tripped and went hard into the boards during the first period of the scrimmage. He got up slowly, but did not miss a shift.
• Left winger Justin Almeida, a fifth-round draft choice in 2018, skated before the practices for the second day in a row.
• The Penguins announced that their preseason opener Monday against Buffalo at Penn State will be streamed on PittsburghPenguins.com, as will their home game against Detroit Sept. 25. Per NHL regulations, those games will be available in what the team describes as "the Pittsburgh region."
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