Penguins recall defenseman P.O Joseph from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Penguins recalled defenseman P.O Joseph from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL)

Joseph was summoned to the NHL roster as a reinforcement with veteran defenseman Mike Matheson sidelined on a “day-to-day” basis due to an undisclosed injury.

Joseph participated in Wednesday’s practice at the FLA Live Arena while Matheson was absent.

A first-round pick (No. 23 overall) of the Arizona Coyotes in 2017, Joseph is considered one of the organization’s top prospects.

The 21-year-old left-handed defenseman made his NHL debut last season appearing in 16 games and scoring five points.

To make room for Joseph on the roster, forward Anthony Angello was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Angello, 25, was a healthy scratch during the Penguins’ season-opening 6-2 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Friedman steps up

Defenseman Mark Friedman replaced Matheson in the lineup on Tuesday and skated on the left side of the third pairing with partner Chad Ruhwedel. Logging 14:07 of ice time on 19 shifts, Friedman had two shots on three attempts.

While Matheson’s status was not totally certain until after the morning skate in Tampa, Friedman – who entered the season with a mere 18 games on his NHL resume – took the necessary steps to ensure he would be prepared for that 19th game.

“In this business, you’ve always got to be ready for the opportunity,” Friedman said. “You never know what’s going to happen that day. I just stayed read. In the morning, (Coach Mike Sullivan) said I might be in the lineup that night. I just went through my daily routine that I do on game day. It obviously (stinks) to see a guy get hurt and not be able to play but an opportunity is an opportunity in this league.”

The man who wrote Freidman’s name into the lineup card suggested he capitalized on that opportunity.

“I thought that was one of (Friedman’s) best games as a Pittsburgh Penguin,” Sullivan said. “He played real well. You can see his mobility, his ability to jump into the offense. He made some plays in the offensive zone. He made a great pass (to generate a) two-on-one (sequence) in the first period. And he defends hard. He’s a gritty kid. He plays with a lot of courage.”

Empty feeling

During Tuesday’s win, the Penguins made NHL history by scoring three empty-net goals. They were only the fourth team in NHL history to tally that many goals on a vacant cage in one contest.

The only problem was they also gave up two goals after the Lightning pulled goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy late in the third period.

That specific situation – defending when the opposition yanks the goaltender for an extra attacker – was a point of emphasis on Wednesday for the Penguins.

“We can get a lot better at the five-on-six situation,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That was one of the things we talked about with the game film this morning before we came to the rink. We can certainly defend better as a group of five and understand what the rotations are and what everybody’s responsibilities are.”

“The six-on-five wasn’t great, giving up two goals there,” said forward Teddy Blueger. “It’s still early. We haven’t had a lot of time to practice it really so far. That’s something, for sure, we’re working on moving forward and something we addressed today.”

Lines shuffled

With forward Jake Guentzel (covid-19) participating in line rushes on Wednesday, there was a trickle-down effect for three of the team’s four lines.

Danton Heinen was replaced as the left wing on the top line by Guentzel and moved to the right wing of the third line in place of Dominik Simon. That meant Simon found himself on the left wing of the fourth line.

Rookie Drew O’Connor, who skated on the left wing of the fourth line in Tuesday’s game worked as an extra forward in practice.

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