Tuesday Practice Report: Kennedy moved up to Malkin’s line; Eaton (knee) misses practice

Pittsburgh _ Coming off a 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, head coach Dan Bylsma is considering changes on his top four lines.

Evgeni Malkin needs more production from his linemates and today in practice, Dan Bylsma made two changes as Tyler Kennedy skated on the second line with Malkin.

Ruslan Fedotenko played the left side on Malkin’s line as the third line consisted of Matt Cooke – Jordan Staal and Pascal Dupuis.

This is a move to not only jumpstart the Penguins second line but also jumpstart the play of Tyler Kennedy who is pointless in his past 10 games.

Kennedy scored five goals in his first 12 games to open the season and had the look of a player who was going to score 20+ goals this season but since returning from a nagging groin injury in late November, Kennedy has 1 goal in 11 games.

Defenseman Mark Eaton (right knee) did not practice today. I’m told Eaton will not be avaliable to play tomorrow night against Ottawa. The team will shut him down until after Christmas.