CRANBERRY — Blue-collar winger Jansen Harkins has been diagnosed with a concussion, the apparent result of a hit from Winnipeg center Adam Lowry during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 loss to the Jets Saturday.
Harkins did not participate in practice Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Center Evgeni Malkin also sat out the workout. Coach Mike Sullivan said he was given a “maintenance day.”
Malkin went on the ice about 20 minutes before practice got underway, but was not wearing full equipment and might have been testing a pair of skates, although athletic trainer Chris Stewart was on the bench then and appeared to be monitoring Malkin’s actions.
Defenseman Kris Letang was present for most of the practice, but departed before special-teams work began. Sullivan said Letang left early because he has been “nicked up.”
Center Noel Acciari, who is recovering from a concussion, had a half-hour workout on the ice before the full-team practice and did not join his teammates for that session.
Personnel combinations
Here are the forward lines and defense pairings deployed by coach Mike Sullivan during Monday’s workout:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith-Jeff Carter-Jesse Puljujarvi
Drew O’Connor-Lars Eller-Rickard Rakell
(Colin White is practicing, but did not notice him in line rushes.)
Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Erik Karlsson
P.O-Joseph/John Ludvig-Chad Ruhwedel
Battling it out
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice included something of a rarity: Battle drills.
Here’s a look at what they were like:
More must-reads: