Penguins V. Utah Preview: Hayes Activated, Ponomarev Optioned

After a tough loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins are right back at it on Saturday with a tilt against the Utah Hockey Club.

And they’ll be adding one of their forwards back into the lineup.

Kevin Hayes, who has been out since Nov. 5 with an upper-body injury, was activated from injured reserve and will be in the lineup against Utah. In a corresponding move, forward Vasily Ponomarev was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

“I thought he did some good things,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of Ponomarev. “I think it was good experience for him to get those games. I think he can get a little bit stronger so he’s stiffer on pucks and the puck battles. Obviously, one of the biggest challenges for young players is just how fast things happen. And I think part of that learning process is just getting some experience so you can process the game quickly, and so that you can recognize where potential threats are when you’re on the defensive side and where opportunities are when you’re on the offensive side. So, I think that’s just part of the process that Poni is going through.”

Alex Nedeljkovic will get the start in goal against Utah. On the season, he is 3-3-3 with a 3.17 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage.

In addition, there will be some other changes to the lineup. Defenseman Ryan Graves will slot back in after being a healthy scratch for the past two games, and Ryan Shea will be out.

Also, rookie defenseman Owen Pickering will get his first start on the top pairing with Kris Letang, while Matt Grzelcyk bumps to the third pairing:

Utah is 7-9-3 on the season and is riding a three-game losing streak. They are 3-5-2 on the road this season, but Sullivan is aware of the threat that the young, up-and-coming team poses.

“They’re one of the energing teams in the league,” Sullivan said. “They’re young, they’ve got a lot of dynamic forwards offensively. They play with a lot of enthusiasm, and they’re fast. It makes for a pretty good combination. So, we’re going to have to defend hard, we’re going to have to manage the puck, and force them to play goal line to goal line.”

Captain Sidney Crosby is still on milestone watch, as he sits at 599 career goals. In his career against Utah (formerly the Arizona Coyotes), Crosby has registered 13 goals and 36 points in 24 games.