Penguins Notebook: Blomqvist Arrives, Glass Skates, Rakell Dodges Injury Scare

Pittsburgh's rookie goaltender does not practice but joins the team ahead of their seven-game road trip

There was a lot happening in Cranberry, Pa. at Pittsburgh Penguins practice on Thursday.

Just one day after goaltender Tristan Jarry was waived by the Penguins, Joel Blomqvist arrived in Pittsburgh. Since he has not yet officially been added to the active roster - that won't happen until either Jarry is claimed or he clears waivers - Blomqvist did not practice with the team and was not available to the media after practice.

But, nonetheless, teammates are excited to see him continue what he started in his brief stint at the onset of the 2024-25 season, beginning with their upcoming seven-game road trip that starts Friday against the Buffalo Sabres.

"He was great when he was playing in those games," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "He has a sense of calmness about him. It really helps when you play defense in front of a guy like that... He's a great goalie, so it will be fun to see him." 

In that stint earlier this season, the rookie goaltender posted a .904 save percentage across eight appearances for the Penguins. That number is a bit deflated because of one nightmare performance against the Dallas Stars, when he allowed three goals on eight shots and was pulled in the first period. Taking out that game, his save percentage was .913 across the other seven games.

When asked what stood out about Blomqvist's game the most during his first NHL stint, head coach Mike Sullivan pointed to a few things.

"I think just his athleticism, his competitiveness," Sullivan said. "He competes hard on pucks. He's really athletic. His lateral mobility, his lateral agility, his ability to get post-to-post is exciting. He's a good goaltender. He's played extremely well in Wilkes, we thought he played well for us at the beginning of the year when he was here."

- In other news, forward Cody Glass - who was injured during the first period in the Penguins' 4-2 loss against the Seattle Kraken - was back at practice on Thursday after missing the team's practice on Wednesday.

Glass said that he feels fine now and is fortunate given the fact that 6-foot-7. 252-pound Seattle defenseman Jamie Oleksiak landed right on his head.

"Head kind of hit the ice, [Oleksiak] fell on top of my head... not ideal," Glass said, smiling. "But it's hockey."

- During practice, there was a bit of collective breath being held, as Rickard Rakell appeared to have injured his hand during a drill. Rakell left the ice shaking his hand and did not return to practice, nor was he available to the media after practice.

Despite the little injury scare there, head coach Mike Sullivan does not expect it to be anything that keeps him away from the rink.

"Raks is just a little knicked up," Sullivan said. "So, we chose to send him off the ice. We don't anticipate there being any issues."

- Owen Pickering practiced on the fourth pairing with Ryan Shea on Thursday, while Ryan Graves slotted in on the third pairing next to P.O Joseph - perhaps an indication that he will slot in the lineup Friday against the Sabres instead of Pickering:

This is something that may not be worth reading into too much. Graves has not played since Jan. 3 against the Florida Panthers, and it's important to keep him fresh. It's also an opportunity for Graves to continue building on what has appeared to be some improvements this season in comparison to last.