The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting healthy. After being pushed around by the Chicago Blackhawks last night in a 5-1 loss, they’ve sent Oskar Sundqvist, Josh Archibald and David Warsofsky to the AHL. Only Sundqvist played in the game last night, and even he only saw eight minutes of icetime.
The Penguins got Conor Sheary and Chad Ruhwedel back last night, and Bryan Rust played his third game since returning. With Jake Guentzel and Ron Hainsey both on the brink of a return, the team is starting approach full strength. If Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang can at least return for the playoffs, the Penguins will be a tough team to deal with. As it looks more and more like they’ll face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round, they’ll need all hands on deck.
Each of the three have played just a handful of games for the Penguins this season, with Archibald leading the group with two goals. They will return to the AHL for now to try and help the first place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on their Calder Cup run. With 95 points, the baby-Pens should be considered the favorite to take home the trophy this season.