P.O Joseph rejoins practice, re-entering competition for Penguins' 3rd defensive pairing

In a stroke of good fortune, a lower-body ailment suffered by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph on Monday against Ottawa ended up sidelining him for only two days.

After missing practice Tuesday, Joseph skated with the Penguins players who did not partake in Wednesday’s preseason game against Detroit before rejoining the main practice group Thursday morning at the club’s facility in Cranberry.

“I’m good. It’s part of hockey, so I’m just happy to be back,” Joseph said. “… I’m all good now.”

Joseph’s return puts him back in the mix for a spot on the third defensive pairing, which, unlike the club’s top two units, has yet to be determined.

This preseason, the lion’s share of discourse surrounding the Penguins blue line has been centered around Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson and Ryan Graves.

All four defensemen will be playing heavy minutes, and the extent to which they click with one another has the potential to elevate or hinder the Penguins early into the 2023-24 campaign.

So it is not surprising that those four have been the subject of attention.

But the Penguins’ final pairing and reserve seventh defenseman are more uncertain.

A handful of players are trying to secure a roster spot heading into Tuesday’s regular-season opener.

With the preseason nearly over, Joseph, Mark Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel and Ryan Shea should be considered the main contenders.

“I think these guys bring different strengths to the table,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re trying to look at each guy and try to figure out which combinations are complementary to the overall group that we have back there that gives us the best chance to win.”

The 33-year-old Ruhwedel, who has played with the Penguins since 2016, is the veteran of the bunch.

Ruhwedel, a right-handed shot, played a career-high 78 games in 2021-22 and last year split time as a healthy scratch and on the team’s ever-changing third pairing.

While not much of an offensive threat, Ruhwedel brings a predictability in his performance that has endeared him to Sullivan and his staff.

“On the nights we tap him on the shoulder to go in the lineup, he goes in and he puts his best game on the ice,” Sullivan said. “On nights when we tap him on the shoulder and say he’s not going to play, he makes sure he puts the work in to keep himself ready and he’s a great teammate. There’s huge value in that.”

Also in the thick of the competition is 26-year-old Ryan Shea, a lefty who has seen the most action (five games) of any Penguins player this preseason.

Shea spent the past three seasons in the American Hockey League, playing with the Dallas Stars’ affiliate before signing a one-year deal with the Penguins over the summer.

Sullivan has seemed intrigued by the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Shea, who has been deployed on both sides of a given defensive pairing in addition to the penalty kill.

“I kind of developed my game into a puck-moving, penalty-killer type D-man,” Shea said. “I think that’s what they want me to be here, so it’s just making the quick first pass, the right first pass. And when I get the chance on the (penalty kill), like in these preseason games I have, I’ve just got to take advantage of it, whether it’s blocking pucks, getting clears or just being in the right position to shut down some of the top lines across the league.”

Friedman, by far the Penguins’ most physical defenseman, enters his fourth season with the team.

At various junctures last year, Friedman was plugged into the lineup to offset injuries but, by the end, he had been waived three times.

Having seen firsthand that nothing is guaranteed for him, Friedman is resolved to claw his way to a roster spot.

“Every year for me, I’m trying to make the team,” Friedman said. “That’s how I look at it. I never take a day for granted here, and I always got to come to the rink with the right mindset. No matter how tired I am, everybody else is going through it. There’s no excuses. I just think that every year for me, I’ve always got to come in and prove myself.”

Sullivan said the Penguins’ lineup Friday vs. Buffalo in their final preseason contest will consist heavily of NHLers and look similar to the group the club will deploy in the regular-season opener against Chicago.

Leading into 5 p.m. Monday, the deadline for final preseason cuts, Sullivan and his staff must make several determinations.

“We have to make some hard decisions here coming up,” Sullivan said.