Penguins notebook: For now, HBK line broken up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Don't throw out your T-shirts just yet. No one has retired or been traded.

But for now, the HBK line is no more.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan broke up the vaunted trio of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel to start Saturday night's game in Nashville. Kessel moved to Evgeni Malkin's wing opposite Chris Kunitz. Bryan Rust slid into Kessel's old spot, forming the HBR line, which doesn't have anywhere near the same ring to it.

“That line has been very good for our team, but we're trying as coaching staff to look at the big picture,” Sullivan said. “It's not just about one line. It's about the group and what combinations are the best to make us harder to play against, to give us some balance throughout our lineup.”

The HBK line, which was a driving force for the Penguins' offense en route to the Stanley Cup last season, didn't produce an even-strength goal in the first five games of this season.

“I think we changed it a little bit the last few (games). We were reaching. Maybe a little bit of pressure to score as the HBK line,” Bonino said. “There's ups and downs. It was a down for us, I think. We didn't play bad. We just didn't execute. We'll see what happens now.”

Injuries on defense

Two defensemen, Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot, left Thursday's game against San Jose with injuries.

Maatta was none the worse for wear Saturday, save for a cut near his right nostril, and was in the lineup against the Predators.

He was impressed with how well his four teammates on the blue line played without him against the Sharks.

“First of all, it's frustrating to leave the game and not coming back,” Maatta said. “When you see the guys playing four ‘D,' they did an unbelievable job with that.”

Pouliot, meanwhile, is on the injured list with what Sullivan called a longer-term lower-body injury. He was replaced in the lineup by call-up David Warsofsky, one of the last cuts at the end of training camp.

“(Starting the year in the minors is) obviously not a situation you want to be in, but that's how the cards played out right now,” Warsofsky said. “Whenever your name is called, you want to take advantage of it.”

Crosby update

Sullivan said Sidney Crosby skated on his own Saturday morning as he recovers from a concussion. He had the day off Friday.

The next step for Crosby, presumably, is to rejoin the team for a full practice. The Penguins are in the middle of a nine-day stretch — from Oct. 14 to Monday — with no full team practices.

“It hasn't really affected his recovery process at all to this point, but that is one of the challenges when we're trying to get guys back in the lineup, trying to get them into a practice that has some game-like scenarios,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also said Kris Letang (upper body) remains day-to-day. He said he has no reason to believe Letang will be out long term.

Atop the stat sheet

If Warsofsky sticks with the Penguins the rest of the year, he probably will end up leading the AHL in points per game this season. He played one game with the Baby Pens, posting a goal and an assist in a 6-2 season-opening win over Hartford, before being called up.

“We had a good first night, and if that's how it sticks, I wouldn't mind that at all,” Warsofsky said.

Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @BombulieTrib.