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MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — Seeing right wing Tyler Kennedy practice Monday no doubt pleased the Penguins, who have played the past three games without their second-leading goal scorer among forwards.

There is a possibility that Kennedy, whose injury was not disclosed by the team, could play tonight against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center — and though the Penguins are 2-1-0 without him, they wouldn't scoff at reinserting into the lineup his combination of speed, skill and grit.

With Kennedy at less than full health, small doses of opportunity have been presented to wingers Chris Bourque and Chris Conner.

"The common denominator with a smaller player that we like is that their compete-level better be really high," Penguins director of player personnel Dan MacKinnon said. "Both guys have that. There's no cheat to them, as coaches like to say."

The Penguins list Kennedy at 5-foot-11, though that measurement wouldn't pass an eye test. Still, in less than three seasons he has gone from role player to valued member of the club's "Nightmare Line" along with center Jordan Staal and left wing Matt Cooke.

Bourque and Conner each measure in at 5-foot-8, according to the Penguins. Like Kennedy, both players are blessed with top-flight acceleration, with Conner earning praise from MacKinnon for his ability to create space for himself and linemates by backing off players through the neutral zone.

Signed as a free agent to serve as a top scorer for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins' AHL affiliate, Conner had gone under the radar for a player that had appeared in 71 NHL games for the Dallas Stars over the previous three seasons.

MacKinnon, whose previous role with the Penguins was head professional scout, said Conner was hurt by never playing a full AHL season after leaving Michigan Tech in 2006.

"He was a player you had to go and watch in the AHL to see how much he dictated games with his drive and speed," he said. "Playing for a Western team in the AHL doesn't always get a player a lot of looks from scouts in the East."

Conner, 25, had scored two goals and recorded eight points in seven AHL games before his recall to the Penguins last Thursday.

Bourque, 23, was claimed off waivers from the Washington Capitals before the regular season opened, and he has played in six games with the Penguins - including a few with regular shifts on a line centered by Evgeni Malkin before he was shut down last Thursday for two weeks because of strained right shoulder.

The son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, Chris Bourque is considered more of a true prospect than Conner.

Pressed to play the comparison game, MacKinnon said Bourque possesses skill elements that have served veteran winger Steve Sullivan well in NHL cities such as Nashville and Chicago — notably a sharp hockey IQ and willingness to work in tight quarters.

"For him to be a regular player in the NHL there has to be some production," MacKinnon said of Bourque. "It can't be just work ethic and grinding, because we have bigger guys in the organization that can bring that.

"This may be his best opportunity to show that now."

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