Penguins hoping Radim Zohorna can bolster bottom 6 with added offensive punch

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Radim Zohorna couldn’t help but have a little fun Wednesday after reuniting with Valtteri Puustinen, with whom he forged a friendship as teammates in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League a few seasons ago.

Zohorna and Puustinen played together in Pittsburgh earlier this season, but Zohorna was placed on waivers by the Penguins in mid-January, after which he cleared and was assigned to the AHL.

But Wednesday, Zohorna was recalled by the Penguins, for whom Puustinen has played since early December.

“I didn’t miss him at all,” Zohorna joked.

Zohorna will prepare to enter the Penguins’ lineup at a critical time, as the club fights for a spot in the playoffs with only four regular-season games remaining, beginning Thursday evening at home vs. the Detroit Red Wings.

“I hope I can help this team win and make the playoffs,” Zohorna said. “It’s what I’m hoping for. … It’s nice to get a chance again.”

Zohorna, a 6-foot-6 left-handed shot, rejoins the Penguins having enjoyed a recent spurt of productivity in the AHL.

He’s contributed nine goals with 16 assists in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but is riding a five-game point streak dating to March 24.

Earlier, on March 18, he scored a hat trick against the Cleveland Monsters.

Zohorna played 31 games for the Penguins this season, scoring four goals with three assists. But, over his last 24 games before being placed on waivers, he managed just one goal and two assists.

During Wednesday’s practice, coach Mike Sullivan inserted him as third-line center (Lars Eller’s usual position), skating with Puustinen and Reilly Smith.

“(Zohorna) is a good player on both sides of the puck,” Sullivan said. “He can play center, he can play the wing. He played some good hockey for us earlier in the year. He’s played really well in Wilkes-Barre as of late.

“I think he brings an offensive dimension to the bottom six. He’s a guy that can make plays, has the ability to finish, he’s strong on pucks and I think he has the ability to play the game with pace. He’ll bring more of an offensive dimension to that bottom six without giving up anything on the defensive side.”

In a corresponding move Wednesday, the Penguins reassigned 23-year-old forward Sam Poulin back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Poulin, the Penguins’ first-round draft pick (No. 22 overall) in 2019, ultimately only saw action in three games at the end of March, averaging 8 minutes, 53 seconds of ice time and not recording a point.

He had not played since March 30 and was scratched from the Penguins’ past five games.

“The biggest thing I think was just that Sam has done such a great job in his overall development and growth this season,” Sullivan said. “We don’t want him sitting on the sidelines too long. We want to keep him playing, and, if he wasn’t going to be in our lineup here, we wanted to make sure we kept him playing in games.”

Notes:

• Eller missed practice Wednesday because of illness, per Sullivan. His status for Thursday’s game against Detroit has not been announced.

• Defenseman Kris Letang left practice early as part of planned maintenance.

• The NHLPA released its ninth annual Player Poll Wednesday morning, which surveyed 639 participating players on 15 hockey-related questions.

For the fifth straight year, Penguins center Sidney Crosby finished either tied for or in outright first place when participants were asked, “Who is the most complete player?”

Crosby garnered 38.37% of the votes this year, besting second-place Alexsander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (14.6%) by a considerable margin.

Also receiving votes were the Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.

When asked, “If you need to win one game, who is the forward you want on your team?” 11.58% of respondents voted for Crosby, who was second behind McDavid (48.71%).

Lastly, Crosby’s prowess in the faceoff circle was noted by his NHL peers, as he finished just behind the Nashville Predators’ Ryan O’Reilly when players were asked to whom they’d turn to win a faceoff.

O’Reilly garnered 14.49% of the vote, while Crosby, whose 58.5% faceoff win rate ranks third in the NHL, received 13.59%.

Crosby’s 1,787 faceoffs taken and 1,046 faceoffs won both lead the league.