Snapshots: Mantha, Granato, Rasmussen

Penguins winger Anthony Mantha has been a pleasant surprise this season, having a resurgent campaign.  However, that’s now on hold for the time being as the team announced (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  The 31-year-old missed most of last year due to injury, allowing him to sign a one-year deal with incentives this season.  He has made the most of it, tallying 26 goals and 27 assists in 71 games, setting new career highs across the board offensively.  He has reached the first seven levels of his various games-played bonuses (totaling $1.75MM) but will need to play in nine of Pittsburgh’s 11 remaining games in order to receive an additional $250K, giving him some extra incentive to return quickly beyond their battle for a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

• Former Sabres head coach Don Granato is set to run a bench once again. USA Hockey announced that Granato has been named as their head coach for the upcoming World Championship.  The 58-year-old led Buffalo to a 122-125-27 record over parts of four seasons before being dismissed following the 2023-24 campaign.  This will be his first coaching opportunity since then.  The tournament is set to run from May 15-31 in Switzerland.
• Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen has yet to resume skating as he continues to work his way back from an undisclosed injury, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). At this point, he’s still in treatment mode according to head coach Todd McLellan, who noted that he’s still probably at least a week away from returning.  While Rasmussen hasn’t been particularly productive this season – just 14 points in 61 games – he’s still an important part of Detroit’s bottom six and penalty kill; getting him back would certainly help in their late-season playoff push.