Penguins v Wild Preview

 
The Minnesota Wild play their first game since placing goalie Josh Harding on injured reserve, while Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal returns from his suspension Thursday. Harding, who was placed on IR Wednesday in order to make an adjustment to his medication for multiple sclerosis, leads the NHL with a 1.51 goals-against average and is second with a .939 save percentage. He is tied for second with 18 wins, two behind Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The Wild recalled Johan Gustafsson and will start Niklas Backstrom against Pittsburgh at Consol Energy Center. Backstrom is 2-5-2 with a 2.93 GAA and .900 save percentage in 12 games.

Pittsburgh did not have a morning skate after playing against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, but it is well known Neal, who has 10 goals and 20 points in 16 games, will return after serving a five-game suspension. The Penguins won each of those five games and have won 10 of their past 11, but are looking forward to welcoming back Neal as well as other players who are injured or suspended.

But last night (Wednesday) Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Pittsburgh is confident with the group it has in the meantime.

"If everyone got healthy tomorrow [Thursday], you're talking about a substantial number of guys getting back in the lineup. I don't think how we play, I don't think expectations, I don't think style of play, game plan really changes by getting one or two players back or getting everybody back for that matter. I think that's the good things about having these guys [call-ups] come in and play. They know how to play and they know the expectation."

The Pens are likely to start with their usual top-line of Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis & Chris Kunitz, while James Neal's return from suspension should see him re-united with Jussi Jokinen. Harry Zolnierczyk will likely join them with Evgeni Malkin once again missing. Brandon Sutter should see Chris Conner and Joe Vitale alongside him on the third line while Craig Adams, Zach Sill and Chuck Kobasew will make up the fourth line. Malkin (Lower Back), Andrew Ebbett (Ankle), Beau Bennett (Wrist), Tanner Glass (Hand) and Jayson Megna (Lower Body) are all still out.

The defense is still short with Kris Letang (Upper Body), Brooks Orpik (Concussion), Paul Martin (Leg), Rob Scuderi (Ankle) and Deryk Engelland (Suspended). That should see Matt Niskanen paired with Olli Maatta, Robert Bortuzzo with Brian Dumoulin and Simon Despres with Philip Samuelsson.

Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke and coach Mike Yeo have fond memories of their time in Pittsburgh, but they are not looking to the past. Cooke and Yeo, members of the 2008-09 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, will return to Consol Energy Center for the first time since exiting the Penguins organization. Each said he will take a moment to reflect on his tenure with Pittsburgh, but that won't linger after the puck drop on Thursday.

"It's always emotional," Cooke said. "Especially having success, winning a Cup here, the fans really make you feel like you're a Pittsburgher forever when you win here. They supported me through tough times too. So, I have a special place for Pittsburgh. But unfortunately, this is a business and I play for the Minnesota Wild now and as emotional as it is to see everybody for the first time, today I have to go help my team win a hockey game."

Cooke, who spent the past five seasons with the Penguins before signing with Minnesota during the offseason, was one of Pittsburgh's more physical forwards, but became a fan favorite after adjusting to a more disciplined style of play. He has carried that discipline to Minnesota and is sixth on the team with 12 points (five goals). Forward Mike Rupp, Cooke's teammate for two seasons in Pittsburgh, said there is a noticeable difference between the way Cooke played then and the way he performs now.

"He provides a lot on the ice," Rupp said. "He's one of those guys who obviously kills penalties and adds experience. So, you can't have enough of those guys and at the beginning of the year, he was adding to the offense too. Those are all good things that you want to add to any team. I wasn't surprised [that Cooke changed his game] from knowing him. I've talked to him about the steps he's done and I think everyone knows the steps he's done. He's a guy that when he decides to do something, he's a student of the game and wants to learn how to be better."

Yeo, a Penguins assistant coach from 2005-2010, said Cooke brought the same positive traits he remembers him having in Pittsburgh to Minnesota.

"He's a guy we kind of looked and said we identified a need and he would fit it. We were looking for a guy who would play a real important role in our penalty kill, a guy who could play against the top players, a guy who's going to bring you momentum and obviously the speed and physicality that he brings. The fact that he's playing as disciplined as he is a bonus for us."

Cooke credited Yeo with making his transition to the Wild seamless.

"Having Mike's trust, knowing him and being able to come into a situation where the system was fairly familiar, I think allowed me to be successful right away. It wasn't a big transition and that was important for me in my decision making in July."

After coaching Penguins captain Sidney Crosby for five seasons, Yeo called the thought of coaching against Crosby, who leads the League with 49 points, "scary," but thinks he is prepared due to a coaching style similar to Penguins coach Dan Bylsma.

"It's hard to put it on one or two things [learned from Bylsma]. Obviously, I can point to Xs and Os and other things strategically. The way [Bylsma] conducts himself, the way he communicates, the way that he prepares his teams, those are things that stick out most."

The Wild have earned consecutive shootout victories and are in eighth place in the Western Conference. Yeo said he is more focused on winning the game Thursday than reminiscing about his time with the Penguins.

"For me personally, I think enough time has passed. Obviously, it's exciting to come in and see the faces, but it's an important game for our group, for our team. We want to go into Christmas break feeling good about ourselves and we've won a couple games in a row, we'd like to keep that going."

Despite playing the majority of his career with the Vancouver Canucks, Cooke enjoyed his greatest success while with the Penguins. He had more than 30 points in four of his five seasons with Pittsburgh (he had 21 during last season's 48-game regular season). He surpassed that mark in three of his nine seasons before joining the Penguins. But his view on the game Thursday is similar to Yeo's. Cooke said he would like to have a tribute video to be played, similar to one played for his former Pittsburgh linemate, San Jose Sharks forward Tyler Kennedy, earlier this season. But he said his primary motivation is beating the Penguins.

"I need to go out and prepare myself to play a game. That's what's most important to me. Obviously, I hope I don't get booed. But it wouldn't be the first time, probably won't be the last."

"It's always emotional. Especially having success, winning a Cup here, the fans really make you feel like you're a Pittsburgher forever when you win here."  -- Minnesota forward Matt Cooke

 
It's unlikely Penguins rookie defenseman Olli Maatta ever imagined he would be one of the team's most veteran defensemen at any point this season. But injuries to Pittsburgh's top four blueliners have suddenly forced Maatta into that very situation. And he's making the transition look easy. The 19-year-old easily topped his career high for minutes in Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout victory against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. His 28:06 topped his previous high of 24:17, which he set in a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs two nights earlier. Maatta found himself in every situation Wednesday alongside defensive partner Matt Niskanen. That included the key defensive assignment of going against the Rangers' top line of Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and Chris Kreider.

"The role is bigger. He's playing against the other team's best players right now. We're seeing him in a big penalty kill role as well. He's certainly been up to the task," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, who said he isn't terribly surprised by the rookie's emergence. "He's a 19-year-old kid, but he certainly hasn't played like it at all in the first 36 games. His minutes are going up because of the injuries we have, but the consistency with which he plays has not changed. That's been there since training camp."

Entering his rookie season, Maatta hoped he might mature into an everyday NHL defenseman. But he never expected to assume a veteran's role so soon in his career. Maatta competed in his 36th NHL game Wednesday; two recent defensive call-ups from the American Hockey League who skated against the Rangers, Brian Dumoulin and Philip Samuelsson, have now played in five games combined.

"It's tough, of course. It's not an ideal situation to have so many guys hurt. At the same time, all the guys like Niskanen and the forwards have been really good helping us," Maatta said. "They know we're an inexperienced group back there. They're really helping us and supporting us a lot."

Even if he never expected to have so many rookie defensemen in the lineup at once, Bylsma hasn't made any excuses for his young defense corps. They're expected to play a certain way no matter the circumstances. And with an uncanny string of injuries to important veteran players, Maatta has emerged as an unlikely leader for a surging Penguins team that has won six in a row and 10 of its past 11 games.

"The expectation for how we play and the guys stepping is not to tread water. It's to bar the door and hold on until someone else arrives," Bylsma said. "You're expected to step in and contribute and play the right way. You see that with the confidence when they step over the boards, the confidence when they play."