Defenseman Juuso Riikola and forward Colton Sceviour cleared waivers Sunday and will remain members of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Having cleared waivers, each can be assigned to the taxi squad or even Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) in order to provide roster flexibility for management to potentially activate a player off of injured reserve or add to the roster prior to Monday’s trade deadline at 3 p.m.

Riikola has been limited to two games and no points this season, partly because of an undisclosed injury that landed him on injured reserve for 20 games. He is in the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.15 million. His most recent game was Jan. 19.

Primarily used on the fourth line, Sceviour has played in 31 games this season and has six points (three goals, three assists). He is in the final year of a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.2 million.

“They’re great pros,” coach Mike Sullivan said via video conference. “They understand the business. These guys, they work hard every day, they keep themselves ready. … That’s all you can do as a player. These guys are good teammates, they’re good pros, they have a great attitude, they have a great approach every day. They’re very well liked by their teammates because of that. Certainly, everybody has a lot of respect for them.

“Juuso had an opportunity early in the season. He got hurt, which was unfortunate. And, obviously, we’ve got a number of NHL defensemen here right now. So those lineup decisions are difficult. But certainly, these guys are always in the mix as it relates to the decisions that we’re trying to make game to game.”

Notes:

• Should Riikola or Sceviour be moved off the NHL roster, that could clear the way for forward Teddy Blueger to be activated off of injured reserve. Sidelined for the past 13 games because of an undisclosed ailment, Blueger has played in 28 games this season and has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists).

Sullivan labeled Blueger as a “game-time decision” for Sunday’s road game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. In contrast, Sullivan ruled Blueger out prior to recent games.

• Per Sullivan, reserve rookie forward Anthony Angello rejoined the team in Newark and participated in the morning skate. He remained Western Pennsylvania during the past three games of the team’s ongoing road trip in order to have an undisclosed injury attended to in Pittsburgh. Angello, who remains on the taxi squad, was ruled out for Sunday’s game.

In 19 games this season, Angello has four points (two goals, two assists).

• According to Sullivan, injured forward Evgeni Malkin skated in Western Pennsylvania on Sunday. Currently on injured reserve, Malkin has missed the past 12 games because of a suspected right knee injury.

• The Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Tristan Jarry. In 27 games this season, Jarry has a 16-8-2 record along with a 2.88 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

• The Devils are expected to start goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. In 23 games this season, he has a 9-11-3 record, a 3.02 GAA, a .905 save percentage and one shutout.

• Devils rookie forward Marian Studenic is expected to make his NHL debut. In 19 American Hockey League games this season with the Binghamton Devils, he has seven points (three goals, four assists).

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