Chris Kunitz registered two goals and an assist in Wednesday's 5-1 preseason victory over Detroit. Kunitz appears to be picking up where he left off when he enjoyed a career season in 2012-13. Pascal Dupuis, Craig Adams and Jussi Jokinen all found the back of the net for Pittsburgh while Marc-Andre Fleury played the entire game in goal and stopped 16 of 17 shots for the win. Drew Miller was the lone goal scorer for the Wings while Petr Mrazek played the entire game between the pipes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Chris Kunitz to a three-year, $11.55 million extension. He has one year left on his current deal and then he'll earn a $125,000 annual raise, with a $3.85 million cap hit. Kunitz enjoyed an excellent 2013 campaign with 22 goals and 52 points in 48 games. He has benefited from being able to play alongside Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in recent years, but that doesn't take away from his tenacity and his ability to put the puck in the net.

Chris Kunitz scored the lone goal for the Penguins in their 2-1 double-overtime loss to the Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Kunitz roofed home a goal 8:51 into the second period on a nifty centering, backhand pass from Paul Martin. But it was all that Pittsburgh could manage to get past Tuukka Rask. Despite the loss, the Penguins did everything they needed to do to get back into the series, playing a much more urgent and structured game. They outshot and outchanced the Bruins by a considerable margin, playing their best game but still falling short. Deflating in every sense of the word as they are now down 3-0 in the series. Evgeni Malkin had 21 shot attempts, getting 10 on goal, while Kris Letang had eight shots on net and led the team with 40:50 of ice time. Sidney Crosby had three shots on goal, and he hasn't scored in four games.

The time off between games has been a blessing for a number of the Penguin players. Chris Kunitz seems to have benefited from the break as he reported that an unspecified injury he sustained in the Ottawa series had improved. Evgeni Malkin is also believed to be feeling better as his shoulder injury is also less bothersome. This is good news for Pittsburgh supporters and owners of Malkin and Kunitz in playoff pools.

Chris Kunitz was back at practice Thursday. He skated on his regular line with Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis in the session. Kunitz is believed to be dealing with an unspecified ailment that has prevented him from practicing in a couple of practices. However, it looks like he's OK to keep playing.

Chris Kunitz didn't take part in Wednesday's practice. He was the only played absent from the session and he wasn't on the ice Sunday either. Kunitz may be banged up heading into the Eastern Conference Finals, but we still expect him to play this weekend in Game 1 against Boston. We'll let you know if we hear otherwise though.

Chris Kunitz skipped Sunday's practice. Kunitz might be playing with an injury sustained during Game 4. Either way, he's expected to be available for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Chris Kunitz was reunited with Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis at Thursday's practice. "I'm sure [coach Dan Bylsma] is pretty comfortable with us because we've played together for so long," said Crosby. The move sent Jarome Iginla back to the right side with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. These may be the line combinations that Bylsma chooses to go with in Game 2 versus Ottawa Friday night.

Chris Kunitz and Evgeni Malkin generated a goal and an assist each in Pittsburgh's Game 1 victory against Ottawa to open Round 2 of the playoffs. Kunitz helped set up Malkin's game-winning goal just past the midway point of the first period, prior to netting his third marker of the postseason on a power play late in the second frame. Malkin also earned an assist on a man advantage tally by defenseman Paul Martin. Pascal Dupuis potted a shorthanded goal in the third period to finish Tuesday night's scoring. Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Doug Murray, Kris Letang and James Neal collected an assist each in the contest. Neal was also assessed three minor penalties in Game 1.

Pittsburgh left winger Chris Kunitz is in the enviable position of being wanted as a linemate by two of the finest centers in NHL history. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin would like Kunitz to be their left winger for the remainder of the playoffs. Kunitz has spent a lot of his Pittsburgh career playing alongside Crosby, including most of this season as Crosby ran up 56 points en route to being a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. Last season, when Crosby missed a lot of games because of injury, Kunitz played on a line with Malkin, who won the NHL scoring title and Hart Trophy, and right winger James Neal. "It's a good problem to have when you get to play with either one of those guys," Kunitz said of coach Dan Bylsma's decisions on line combinations. "Throughout my years in Pittsburgh, I've had a chance to play with both. They're both such elite talents that they make players around them way better. If you work hard, they're going to reward you with good plays."