While injuries are nothing new for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team took another hit Sunday when the team announced that winger Patric Hornqvist will be placed on injured reserve and is expected to be out “longer term” with a lower-body injury. Hornqvist left Saturday’s game in the third period and did not play in overtime.
That’s bad news as Hornqvist has been an important piece to the Penguins’ offense as he is tied for second on the team with five goals this season and will be missed on the team’s top-six. The news comes just as another player returned Saturday. The team has been without Evgeni Malkin since Oct. 5, but the star forward made his return against Edmonton in their overtime loss on Saturday. Malkin played 19:45, despite not registering a point. However, the loss of Hornqvist doesn’t help a team that has lost four of their last six
The 32-year-old Hornqvist had a somewhat disappointing season last year with 18 goals and 19 assists, both career lows. However, Hornqvist looked better early this season, posting five goals and 10 points in 14 games as well as six points in the last seven games. Bryan Rust is expected to fill Hornqvist’s role on the second line for the time being.