CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA. — Erik Karlsson will play for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their regular-season opener on Wednesday night.
“I’m going to be ready and good to go,” Karlsson said Saturday after being a full participant in practice for the first time during training camp.
Karlsson joined the Penguins in a special teams-heavy session at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. He had returned to on-ice activity Tuesday after not skating for a week because of a nagging upper-body injury.
Karlsson provided some details about the injury, joking that he was not acting his age (34).
“It happened before camp, just working out — wear and tear,” he said. “I had a really good summer; feeling a little bit too young and probably overdid it a little. And this time of the year being a little bit extra cautious was part of it.
“From the start, it was nothing that we were too worried about. That’s why we didn’t make it a big deal. I just needed some time off to let a few things settle down, and they did. Now it’s pretty much good to go.
“The goal was always to be ready to go to start the season, and we’re going to accomplish that with ease.”
The Penguins play the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday night. It will mark Karlsson’s second home opener since he was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks in August 2023.
Karlsson is expected to play with Marcus Pettersson on the Penguins’ top defense pairing, with the tandem of Kris Letang and free-agent acquisition Matt Grzelcyk filling out the top four.
The Penguins mostly worked on special teams Saturday, giving a glimpse for the first time during camp of a top power-play unit that featured Karlsson and Letang. Coach Mike Sullivan said he anticipated using the team’s star defensemen on the top power play as opposed to going with Karlsson and four forwards.
The power play was an albatross for the Penguins last season. Expected to fuel a return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, its overall failure was the biggest reason the team missed the postseason for a second consecutive year.
The Penguins finished with the NHL’s third-worst power play efficiency (15.3 percent), with Karlsson and star center Evgeni Malkin at one point being demoted to the second unit — a first for each in their likely future Hockey Hall of Fame careers.
Associate coach Todd Reirden, who ran the power play, did not have his contract renewed after last season. He was replaced on Sullivan’s staff by David Quinn, who was Karlsson’s head coach with the Sharks.
Quinn’s power play design has emphasized shorter passes, quicker shots, and generally a brisker pace regarding all action.
“It feels good,” Karlsson said. “I’ve obviously been involved in everything — meetings, off-ice discussions. I think everybody’s excited. It’s a clean slate for us.
“We’re all looking forward to those situations and hopefully taking advantage of them more than we did last year.”
(Photo: John McCreary / Getty Images)
