Tristan Jarry will be in goal for the Penguins when they face Philadelphia tonight at 7:08 at PPG Paints Arena, and Mike Sullivan and his staff probably have a pretty good idea of how they intend to deploy their goaltenders over the next few weeks.
But with the stretch drive about to begin and points becoming increasingly precious, Sullivan acknowledged after his team's game-day skate this morning that the coaches might be more willing to deviate from those plans if the performance of a goalie, good or bad, makes it a logical course of action.
"It's not an instance where, 'If you win, you're in' type thing," he said. "We look at it in much more detail than that. We think both goaltenders right now are playing extremely well, and we're going to try to utilize both goaltenders as best we can to keep them sharp and help us win games.
"Performance ultimately will always be the (decisive factor). That's the nature of the world we all live in in pro sports, and in pro hockey. But we feel comfortable right now that we've got a really strong tandem. We think it's a competitive advantage for our team and we're going to try to utilize it as best we can."
Also today:
• Justin Schultz, as expected, participated in the Penguins' game-day skate and is scheduled to return tonight after sitting out the past 16 games because of an unspecified lower-body injury. He said today the biggest problem when returning from an extended absence is adapting to the speed of play because it can't be replicated during practice. His defense partner, Chad Ruhwedel, might face a more significant challenge because he'll be working on the left side, which is not his usual spot. "You just have to make sure you stay in that position be a little more aware of guys who are right wingers and what their tendencies are," Ruhwedel said.
• Although forward Nick Bjugstad, who will sit out his 32nd consecutive game tonight while recovering from core-muscle surgery, has not been on the ice lately, but Sullivan said he "hasn't had a setback, per se." Rather, Sullivan said, the nature of his rehabilitation process is always being adjusted, depending on how he is progressing. "Our medical staff is trying to make the best decisions they can on a daily basis -- or a weekly basis, for that matter -- to get Nick to where we can get him back in the lineup. ... There are always, I think, improvements and plateaus as part of the rehab process, especially when it involves a longer-term injury, like Nick's."
• Anthony Angello, who is scheduled to make his NHL debut on the fourth line tonight, was wearing a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton shirt under his practice jersey today. Alas, it wasn't because he's particularly superstitious or because the parent club is on an austerity kick and reluctant to purchase an adequate supply of hockey underwear. Angello said he simply likes the shirt, although he added that he's done pretty well while wearing it this season.
• Forward Dominik Kahun, who is recovering from a concussion, worked out on the ice at PPG Paints Arena before his teammates skated. The Penguins have not announced a target date for him to resume playing.
• In addition to the Ruhwedel-Schultz pairing, here are the personnel combinations the Penguins used at their game-day skate:
Jared McCann -- Sidney Crosby -- Dominik Simon
Bryan Rust -- Evgeni Malkin -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Alex Galchenyuk -- Andrew Agozzino -- Anthony Angello
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
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