Penguins plan to move defenseman up to forward for next game

The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing quite the puzzle ahead of Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Talented forward Jake Guentzel missed practice on Friday after he took a high hit from Los Angeles Kings’ Brendan Lemieux and then getting hit in the head with a slap shot during Thursday night’s contest.

If practice is telling of what the Penguins’ lineup will look like on Saturday, it appears that head coach Mike Sullivan will need to make a significant change and move a defenseman up to forward for the team’s next game.

The Penguins are just too tight on the salary cap and simply cannot afford a replacement call-up, unless Guentzel or Teddy Blueger are placed on the long term injured reserve. It seems unlikely that either would land on LTIR, seeing that it would mean losing them for 10 games and 24 days.

Blueger attended practice, but skated with a no contact jersey, and his status remains unknown for tomorrow’s game in Columbus.

If Blueger can’t play, and if Guentzel can’t play, the Penguins will need to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Chad Ruhwedel could earn his first game of the season and could land in the atypical role of forward/defenseman.

This is what practice and the reconfigured lines looked like on Friday: 

We have to wait and see if Blueger plays tomorrow. Or Guentzel? Or if Sullivan will make the move to have one of his defensemen step up front for the game against the Blue Jackets. We will find out on Saturday.