Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan artfully sidestepped a question about defenseman Erik Karlsson’s return last week. On Tuesday, he offered some confidence that Karlsson will be ready by the Penguin’s season opener against the New York Rangers on Oct.

There is a fairly high degree of intensity in the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp this season. Head coach Mike Sullivan and the Penguins failed to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and they have not made it past the first round of the playoffs since the 2017-18 season.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson took to the ice prior to his team’s morning skate in Cranberry on Tuesday. Sidelined since the start of training camp due to an undisclosed injury, Karlsson skated for the first time since Sept.