Injured Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter skated before practice Thursday on the secondary ice surface at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Carter missed Tuesday’s game at New Jersey because of what coach Mike Sullivan called an upper-body injury. Sullivan termed Carter day to day, and that seems to be proving accurate.
Although Carter did not join his teammates for the actual practice, Sullivan said Carter will travel later Thursday to Dallas, where the Penguins open a two-game road trip Friday against the Stars. The team also has a game Sunday at Colorado.
There does not appear to be a chance on the trip for Carter to practice with his teammates outside of a likely optional morning skate Friday. The team is not scheduled to practice Saturday, and Sunday’s game has an afternoon start, with no formal morning skate likely. So Carter is not accompanying the club just to practice.
Carter, 39, who is in the final year of his contract, has nine goals, 12 points in 61 games playing primarily on the fourth line and second power-play unit. He has a goal and an assist in his past five games and generally is considered to have been playing better in recent weeks.
Also on the ice with Carter early were defenseman Ryan Shea, who is not currently listed on the Penguins roster, and forward Jonathan Gruden, who the team announced Thursday morning has been sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. The Penguins also announced that defenseman John St. Ivany was recalled from Wilkes-Barre.
St. Ivany, who has been up and down recently and is still looking to make his NHL debut, was on the ice for practice. Shea and Gruden were not.
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