Penguins Notebook: Andrei Kuzmenko Nears Return To Lineup

The Pittsburgh Penguins returned to practice on Monday after notching a 2-1 shootout win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak that began last Monday against the Winnipeg Jets and lasted for almost a week. The Penguins needed it in the worst way since they weren't defending well and looked lethargic. 

They played excellent defense, got great goaltending from Arturs Silovs, and the shooters (Ben Kindel, Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell) finally did well in a shootout. 

Monday's practice saw Muse tinker with the third line some more. Ben Kindel has had a rotating cast of wingers to start the season, and that likely won't change when the Penguins head to the "Windy City" to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Kindel was skating on a line with Ville Koivunen and Andrei Kuzmenko during practice. Koivunen was a healthy scratch on Saturday, while Kuzmenko sat out the last two games since he's obviously going through a lot. 

Here were the full practice lines and pairs:

Forwards

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Chinakhov-Novak-Malkin

Kuzmenko-Kindel-Koivunen

Dewar-Lizotte-Robertson

Defensive pairs

Carlile-Karlsson

Girard-Korczak

Stastney-Letang

Based on these combinations, it appears Hendrix Lapierre and Elmer Soderblom will be the odd ones out at the start of this four-game road trip.

Lapierre's scratch makes sense because, aside from that first game against the Philadelphia Flyers, he's been a bit of a non-factor. It wouldn't hurt to sit him for a game or two so he can work on a few things. 

As for Soderblom, this one's a bit more surprising, especially since he played super well against the Stars on Saturday. He was great along the walls and was one of the Penguins' best forecheckers behind the net. He deserves to get more runway on that line, but the staff doesn't see it that way right now. 

Spencer Stastney will be in the lineup for a little bit since Trevor van Riemsdyk is not going on the trip. Stastney was solid in his Penguins debut on Saturday and showcased some good speed and defensive ability in his own end. 

He was a good fit with Kris Letang, so it'll be interesting to see if that can continue this week. 

Puck drop for Tuesday's Penguins-Blackhawks game will be at 8 p.m. ET. 

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