3 Things: Friedman Practices, Looking Ahead and Workflow - NHL.com

Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the Penguins' Wednesday practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

1. Friedman practices

Defenseman Mark Friedman skated with the team - wearing a regular jersey - for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on March 4 vs. Philadelphia.

"I feel good," he said afterward. "It was nice that it was only a week (and not anything more serious). It was definitely nice to get out there today."

That night was an eventful one for Friedman. The rollercoaster ride started when he scored his first career NHL goal in the first period against the team who had placed him on waivers a few days before after originally drafting him in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft.

Video: PHI@PIT: Friedman clubs his first career NHL goal

"It was a pretty surreal experience," the 25-year-old said. "Against my former team, I couldn't have scripted it any better, I guess. I didn't really know how to celebrate, so I got down on one knee as fast as I could. I didn't really know what to do with my hands and I just got down and I was pretty - not going to say shocked - but pretty taken back with getting my first against my former team."

The celebration didn't last long, as Friedman headed to the locker room shortly after when he was checked into the boards from behind by former teammate Nolan Patrick, but was able to return to the bench.

Friedman wasn't as fortunate the next time that he and Patrick tangled. Friedman went to check the forward in the neutral zone, but Patrick braced for the hit, sending the defenseman flying to the ice. Friedman had to be helped off and did not return to the game.

"Hockey's played at a pretty fast speed," Friedman said. "Stuff happens, and I was on the unlucky side of two plays."

Forward Jared McCann, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, did not practice. Defenseman John Marino was given a maintenance day.

2. Workflow

Here are the lines and D-pairs that the Penguins used with McCann and Marino absent…

Guentzel-Crosby-Rust

Rodrigues-Malkin-Kapanen

Aston-Reese-Blueger-Tanev

Sceviour-Jankowski-Angello

Dumoulin-Letang

Matheson-Ceci

Pettersson-Ruhwedel

Riikola-Friedman

3. Looking ahead, but not past Buffalo

The Penguins completed a five-game homestand with their win over the Rangers on Tuesday, where they went 4-1 in front of their fans. After Wednesday's practice, the team traveled to Buffalo, where they will play the Sabres on Thursday and Saturday. 

They are one of two teams the Penguins have yet to face despite being almost halfway through the season - along with the New Jersey Devils - and they're looking forward to a change in pace.

"Sometimes those segments of playing the same team, you kind of get tired of it," defenseman Kris Letang admitted with a laugh. "You want to play a different type of game or a different opponent. It's fun to face a new one and try to improve our game, try to learn about other different teams we might face down the stretch."

Video: Letang speaks with the media

The struggling Sabres currently rank last in the East Division and will be without captain Jack Eichel for the series, as the team announced today he would be out at least a week with an upper-body injury. That all being said, the Penguins certainly aren't taking them lightly.

"Just because a team is going through a time of struggle doesn't mean that they don't have good players and competitive players," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "On any given night, if you don't bring your A game, you run the risk of getting beat. That's just the reality of the league that we're in."

"They have skill and they have speed, and sometimes when you go out there and you have nothing to lose, that's when you're the most dangerous," Letang said. "We can't go in there thinking about their record. We have to think about focusing on our game and play the right way."

Right now, Pittsburgh is third, three points behind second-place Washington. The Penguins are just one point ahead of Boston and two points ahead of Philadelphia. They've been gathering points at a pretty good pace, winning three straight heading into this series, and want to continue building on that momentum.

"Every game is important," Sullivan said. "We're trying to establish ourselves in the standings as far as solidifying a playoff spot. So every game that we play, by nature of that, is important. And that's how we're trying to look at it."

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