Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson slated to return against Stars
Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson is expected make his season debut in Tuesday’s home game against the Dallas Stars at PPG Paints Arena.
Coach Mike Sullivan said Matheson “going to play” on Tuesday morning.
The left-handed defenseman has been sidelined since suffering an undisclosed injury during the preseason. During practice on Monday, he primarily skated on the team’s third pairing with right-hander Chad Ruhwedel.
Last season, Matheson appeared in 44 games and had 16 points (five goals, 11 assists).
Notes:
• Tristan Jarry is scheduled to start in net for the Penguins. This season, Jarry has appeared in two games and has a 2-0-0 record, a 2.00 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
• The Penguins had an optional morning skate. Those who participated included forwards Teddy Blueger, Brian Boyle, Kasperi Kapanen, Sam Lafferty, Drew O’Connor and Dominik Simon; defensemen Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel and Matheson; and Jarry as well as backup goaltender Casey DeSmith.
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby skated beforehand with skating and skills development coach Ty Hennes. Crosby has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on his left wrist Sept. 8.
• The Penguins’ projected lines and pairings based off Monday’s practice were:
59 Jake Guentzel - 77 Jeff Carter - 43 Danton Heinen
16 Jason Zucker - 9 Evan Rodrigues - 42 Kasperi Kapanen
12 Zach Aston-Reese - 53 Teddy Blueger - 23 Brock McGinn
10 Drew O’Connor - 11 Brian Boyle - 49 Dominik Simon
8 Brian Dumoulin - 58 Kris Letang
28 Marcus Pettersson - 6 John Marino
5 Mike Matheson - 2 Chad Ruhwedel
• The Stars’ lines and pairings during their morning skate were:
14 Jamie Benn - 91 Tyler Seguin - 47 Alexander Radulov
40 Jacob Peterson - 24 Roope Hintz - 25 Joel Kiviranta
18 Michael Raffl - 12 Radek Faksa - 16 Joe Pavelski
64 Tanner Kero - 11 Luke Glendening - 34 Denis Gurianov
23 Esa Lindell - 4 Miro Heiskanen
20 Ryan Suter - 5 Andrej Sekera
44 Joel Hanley - 2 Jani Hakanpaa
• Braden Holtby is expected to start in net for the Stars. In two games this season, he has a 0-1-0 record, a 2.26 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.
• The Stars are without defenseman John Klingberg and forward Jason Robertson due to undisclosed injuries. Additionally, former Penguins forward Blake Comeau is on injured reserve due to an undisclosed ailment.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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