CALGARY, Alberta -- Juuso Riikola really stood out during what passed for the Penguins' game-day skate at the Scotiabank Saddledome Tuesday morning.
He was the one who wasn't wearing goalie equipment, like Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray, or trying to figure out whether he'd be physically capable of dressing for a game against the Flames seven or so hours later, as Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust were.
No, Riikola was the guy who had to be pretty certain that he'd be spending another game night in street clothes.
Just as he had for the previous five, six of the previous seven and 10 of the previous 12.
And he was.
It was a trend that seemed as if it might persist indefinitely unless something dramatic happened ... which it did, when Justin Schultz left what became a 4-1 Penguins victory after just 40 seconds of his first shift, following a center-ice collision with Flames forward Mikael Backlund.
Schultz did not return to the game, and Mike Sullivan did not offer any details about his injury or a prognosis when he met with reporters after the game. He suggested that more information might be available Wednesday, but the Penguins called off their scheduled practice and opted for a "team-building" event at an outdoor rink outside of town.
The event did not include any media availability.
Nonetheless, it seems far from certain that Schultz will be able to return when the Penguins visit the Oilers Friday at 9:08 p.m., which means they will be down to six healthy defensemen.
And Riikola is one of them.
Although he hardly seems like a favorite of this coaching staff, barring a recall from Wilkes-Barre, Riikola should be on their blue line in Edmonton.
Who he'll be paired with and how much playing time he'll get is hard to say, but his puck-moving ability seems like it should mesh nicely with the Penguins' preferred style of play.
If Schultz is out for an extended period -- especially with Brian Dumoulin already recovering from an unspecified lower-body injury -- Riikola should finally get a chance to prove that he deserves to get on the ice for more than practices and highly optional game-day skates.
Some other observations:
• Zach Aston-Reese probably isn't a threat to supplant Patric Hornqvist as the net-front presence on the No. 1 power-play unit, but that's a role he conceivably could grow into. He has good size (6 foot, 204 pounds) and decent hands, and if he's able to get a handle on some of the details of that job, like proper positioning to cause maximum problems for the goaltender, Aston-Reese just might add another entry to his job description.
• Jack Johnson is four points away from 300 in the NHL. Sidney Crosby needs 67 to reach 1,300. Any bets on who reaches that nice round number in their cross-hairs first?
• It's easy to overestimate the impact and importance of a player when you see him on a regular basis, but Stefan Noesen is the kind of guy who figures to get the attention of clubs looking to add a complementary forward. Noesen, who was put on waivers Wednesday, reestablished his credentials while playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this fall and earned an NHL contract from the Penguins. He's a guy they'd like to keep in the organization because he's capable of contributing if/when they have injuries up front, but it won't be a shock if another club grabs his rights before he clears waivers Thursday at noon.
• The Penguins have a pretty tough weekend ahead, with games in Edmonton and Vancouver in the span of 25 hours. Still, it would be understandable if they feel confident about their chances of taking some points out of those games. After all, they have won seven consecutive games against Western Conference opponents and are 13-3-1 against the West for the season, including a 4-1 record on the road.
• For all the challenges Sullivan and his staff have faced this season, here's one they're probably eager to take on: What should their top two lines look like when Crosby returns? Should he be reunited with Jake Guentzel, a partnership that worked well for both, or should the Guentzel-Malkin-Rust unit that's been so effective lately be left intact? The inclination here would be to do that, and see if Crosby can form a productive partnership with Dominik Kahun and Dominik Simon and/or Jared McCann. Kahun has offensive potential that remains untapped, and you have to think that someday, Simon will begin to capitalize on at least a few of the quality scoring chances he gets when used in a top-six role.
• The Penguins are 10-4-3 in the 17 games Crosby has missed while recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia. How much longer are they going to let that guy keep holding back the franchise?
• Lest anyone get too carried away with how Jarry has played this season, this seems like a good time to point out that aside from leading the league in goals-against average (1.85), save percentage (.940) and shutouts (3), he really hasn't achieved all that much, at least statistically. Heck, even Alex Galchenyuk has scored more goals than Jarry. Barely.
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