Penguins Notebook: Another Forward Injury, New-Look Lines Showcased With Kindel Back

The Pittsburgh Penguins got some excellent news at practice on Tuesday.

Second-year forward Ben Kindel was on the ice for practice one week after experiencing a vasovagal episode during the team's flight home from Utah. The Penguins' team plane returned to Salt Lake City shortly after takeoff so that Kindel could go to the hospital. 

Kindel was then cleared to travel back to Pittsburgh last Wednesday and has now been cleared to practice.

Penguins head coach Dan Muse updated Kindel's status after practice, saying he fully participated and looked good. 

"I thought he looked good," Muse told reporters. "It's great to have him back on the ice with us. Kindy’s been around here, even going back to last week - in the building, around the guys. But obviously the next step was just having him back on the ice with the team for a full team practice and being a full participant. It was great to have him back with us."

Kindel skated on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov, who also missed Saturday's game against the Nashville Predators. Malkin has been ill, while Chinakhov has been out with a lower-body injury. 

If I had to wager a guess, I think all three players will be ready to play on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth. It will be everyone's first look at the new-look second line and could signal what's to come, since I see Kindel as the Penguins' long-term second-line center. 

Elmer Soderblom missed practice with an upper-body injury and is currently listed as day-to-day. He recorded an assist on Connor Dewar's goal against the Predators on Saturday and was playing well before getting banged up.

Here's what the rest of the line combinations looked like:

Forwards

Novak-Crosby-Rakell

Chinakhov-Kindel-Malkin

Kuzmenko-Lapierre-Koivunen

Dewar-Lizotte-Robertson

Defensive pairs

Stastney-Karlsson

Girard-Korczak

Carlile-Letang

- Novak has been solid with Crosby and Rakell finally scored his second goal of the year on Saturday against the Predators. It was a big goal since it secured the Penguins at least one point before Ville Koivunen won the game in overtime. 

Who knows, maybe that goal could be a turning point for Rakell, since he's had a tough start to the season. 

- Keeping Lapierre and Koivunen together is a slam dunk, especially since they're reading off one another super well.

It's a small sample size, but in 45 minutes together, they've outscored teams 5-0 and controlled 68.4% of the shot attempts, 83.8% of the expected goals, 80.8% of the scoring chances, and 95.4% of the high-danger chances. 

- Nick Robertson remains on the fourth line and has been a matchup nightmare for opposing teams this year. He's tied for the team lead in goals with six and remains a forechecking menace down low. 

- Defensively, Girard was in a no-contact jersey during practice, but was still paired with his usual defensive partner, Kaedan Korczak. Once Girard is cleared for contact, he'll be slated to return to the lineup. His return will be a big deal since he was off to a great start before getting hurt. 

- Karlsson, Crosby, Koivunen, Novak, and Rakell were on the top power play unit, while Malkin, Letang, Kindel, Chinakhov, and Kuzmenko were on the second unit. 

I like Crosby and Malkin having their own units, especially after the top unit struggled earlier in the season with both players on it. The zone entries were rough, and even when they did get set up, they couldn't get anything going. 

These two units are a good way for the Penguins to spread the wealth. 

- The Penguins will return to practice on Wednesday before concluding this three-game home stand on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth. They'll then play the Montreal Canadiens on Halloween before returning for a two-game home stand next week.

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