The Pittsburgh Penguins’ injury woes continue, this time stretching out of the forward ranks and into the defense. Brian Dumoulin has been placed on injured reserve, joining Alex Galchenyuk (IR), Nick Bjugstad (IR), Bryan Rust (LTIR) and Evgeni Malkin (LTIR) as designated non-roster players. Dumoulin’s stint is retroactive to October 18th and will miss at least the next two games with a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Zach Trotman, who had been on season-opening injured reserve, is heading to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on a conditioning assignment.
Both Bjugstad and Rust will travel with the team to Florida, though the latter cannot return for the first two games of the road trip due to his LTIR designation. Jared McCann was back at practice in full, at least giving the team some respite from this string of injuries.
Despite all the unhealthy bodies, the Penguins are still sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-3 record. The team plays their next three games on the road against the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.
Dumoulin’s presence will be greatly missed, as he has turned into one of the most dependable players on the team. Averaging more than 21 minutes a night, his versatility helps whichever partner he’s skating with and helps drive play in the right direction.
Pittsburgh – the other team not named Boston that truly lives the mantra “Next Man Up!”