Back Home and Back to Work

The Penguins return to game action on Friday after a few days to get reacclimated following their trip to Sweden for the 2025 Global Series – more on that process from Director of Performance Rich Rotenberg.

“I just think all the details,” Sidney Crosby said of what they focused on this week. “When you get an opportunity like this and you get some practice days, I think you really have to make the most of them.

“And I'd say this week was probably a lot of just get on the same page when it comes to D zone and neutral zone stuff, as far as moving the puck quick and making sure we execute there. So, we were really good in the second game in Sweden, moving the puck a lot quicker and getting transitions. So, just looking to build off that.”

Here are the biggest news and notes from three days of on-ice sessions.

A Plan for Brunicke

Defenseman Harrison Brunicke played his ninth NHL game on Nov. 3 in Toronto, reaching a key rookie threshold. If he gets to 10 NHL games, the 19-year-old will officially be in the first year of his entry-level contract. Brunicke has been a healthy scratch for five games going into this back-to-back, which means he is eligible for a conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Kyle Dubas addressed Brunicke’s situation during the latest episode of the GM Show. Dubas said there have been ongoing conversations between the Penguins, Brunicke and his agent, as they want him to know what the plan is and where it’s going.

Dubas said this week, they wanted Brunicke to work with the coaching staff and development staff this week, as many of those staffers – like Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos and Head Skating Coach Jeff Murray – are in Pittsburgh for these few days.

“If you get approved to do the conditioning stint, I don't think you want to burn through unnecessary days,” Dubas said. “If we go down that path and use the conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre, we'll make that decision probably after this weekend... we'll sit and see where we feel things are at relative to playing here, conditioning in Wilkes-Barre and all the other options that are available to him over the next month, month and a half.”

Dubas said they are factoring in the upcoming 2026 World Junior Championship, which is set for Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Minnesota. Brunicke was unable to participate last year due to injury.

“If he's going to be someone that Team Canada would want on their team, we don't want him to go and then have another number of weeks off and not be in a good position for that, with always doing what's best for the Penguins as our guide,” Dubas said. “But we also have to be mindful of what's best for Harrison and whatever he's going to embark upon.”

--Michelle Crechiolo

Koivunen Out, Poulin Recalled

After playing in the first Global Series game against Nashville, Ville Koivunen missed the second game with a lower-body injury. The team announced today that the rookie forward has been placed on injured reserve and is out week-to-week. As a result, Sam Poulin has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

“I was happy, honestly. My goal has been to play here ever since I got drafted,” said Poulin, taken in the first round back in 2019. “Anytime that happens, it’s fun and it’s encouraging that the work you put in actually was rewarded. I’m just really pumped to be back here.”

Poulin currently leads WBS in scoring with 15 points (7G-8A) in 16 games and has seen time playing both the wing and center to start the season. He is looking to continue with his strong start in the minors and translate that to the big leagues.

“I think that my consistency was much better this year,” Poulin said. “Game after game, I was playing some great hockey. The team has been winning, so that was fun, too. Just have to keep doing what was working in Wilkes up here. “

After appearing in 13 games for the Penguins across the last three seasons, Poulin is still searching for his first goal at the NHL level. But from what was displayed in training camp and through this first part of the season, Muse feels there are plenty of other areas where he can help the team.

“I think just his overall game on both sides of the puck has been really good,” Muse said. “And that's what we're looking for him to continue to do. He's a guy there who can protect pucks down low and can make plays. He's also shown to be somebody that's responsible on the defensive side. He showed that to us in training camp, he did that down there, and that’s what we’re looking for.”

--Brandon Karafilis

Tomasino Placed on Waivers

The Penguins placed Phil Tomasino on waivers, with the forward clearing on Wednesday. He had picked up one assist in nine games played with Pittsburgh, with Dubas saying that Tomasino had struggled to find his footing through the first month and a half of the season.

“And after playing in both games in Stockholm with a little bit of consistency and being in the lineup back-to-back, things hadn't really changed a whole lot,” Dubas said.

So, after reflecting on it and considering what would be best for Tomasino, the Penguins thought another team might step up and make a claim amid all the injuries around the league right now. With Tomasino clearing and remaining with the Penguins, Dubas said the hope is that he can go down to WBS and have a similar trajectory to players like Danton Heinen, Ryan Graves and Joona Koppanen, who started the season there and worked their way back.

“The job they've been able to do down there in Wilkes-Barre, to get guys back playing at their best and then have them come back up and be at that level has been pretty remarkable,” Dubas said. “So, it's just trying to get the best out of everybody, and you use all the levers you have to make that happen. And so, that's the decision-making with Phil. We know we can score. We know we can provide depth that way. It's just trying to get the impact of the game to the highest level it can for him, and we just view this as the best way to do that right now.”

--Michelle Crechiolo

Lines and D-Pairs

There were some slight changes to the lineups Pittsburgh used overseas, with Tomasino and Koivunen coming out. Here is the workflow...

Dewar-Crosby-Rust

Hayes-Malkin-Mantha

Novak-Kindel-Poulin

Koppanen-Lizotte-Heinen

Wotherspoon-Karlsson

Shea-Letang

Graves-Clifton

(Dumba-Brunicke)

Dewar had been such an integral part of a strong fourth line before getting the promotion to the top line for the time being. He skated there on Sunday in Stockholm and has been practicing there this week.

“It’s a special job, right? Something that’s really cool,” Dewar said. “One day when you’re all done, you’ll look back and tell your kids you played with Sidney Crosby and actually played some games with him. So yeah, it’s pretty cool. I think the task for myself is to just be myself and play my game and not try to defer too much to those guys.”

When it comes to what Dewar brings, Crosby said he is someone who gets in on the forecheck and creates a lot of havoc.

“He can make plays. He goes to the net,” the captain said. “Does a lot of the difficult things, the stuff that probably doesn't show up on the scoresheet all the time. But he's a guy that's really tough to play against, so I think we're just trying to read off each other and work close and create opportunities, either by forcing mistakes or just being close to the net.”

--Michelle Crechiolo

Injured Players Start Skating with Team

After Tristan Jarry played in his 300^th game as a Penguin on Nov. 3 in Toronto, the team announced a couple of days later that the goaltender would be sidelined for a minimum of three weeks with a lower-body injury.

This morning, Jarry took the ice with his teammates, about two weeks into that timeline.

"That was obviously my first group setting with the little structure, but it felt good," said Jarry, who declined to provide any specifics as to how the injury occurred. “I think it's just going from a day-by-day standpoint, seeing how I feel and just working towards that."

Prior to his injury, Jarry was off to a terrific start after a rocky 2024.25 season, posting a 5-2-0 record and .911 save percentage with one shutout. When the time does come for Jarry to make his return to the lineup, the two-time NHL All-Star is focused on picking up where he left off.

"It's tough when anyone gets injured, doesn't matter from what standpoint,” Jarry said. “It's obviously tough and there's some work to be done to come back, so I think it's just continuing with what I started and being able to keep that going."

While Jarry has been out, both Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov have been operating as the tandem in Pittsburgh. Jarry gave praise to the team for the way they’ve been playing, no matter who is in net.

“I think the biggest thing is we're getting to a point in the game where we have a chance to win every game,” Jarry said. “And I think that comes from everyone within this room, whether guys are blocking shots, we're getting big plays, the power play, the penalty kill. I think everyone's doing a great job collectively just being a team."

Also returning to practice was defenseman Jack St. Ivany, who was injured in a preseason game on Oct. 1 and projected to miss a minimum of six weeks with a lower-body injury.

“With Jack right now, he’s progressing,” Muse said. “It was another good step for him. In terms of impression, as training camp went on, I thought his game kept getting better and better. Really solid two-way, he’s moving pucks well, defending well, joining at the right times. It’s always tough when you’re out. It’s nice to see guys right now starting to take some of those steps in getting back around the team.”

--Brandon Karafilis