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Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Rust, DeSmith

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Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that injured Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry is back skating. He has not practiced with the team but took to the ice after yesterdays practice in Colorado. The Penguins defense has been decimated by injuries in recent days as Petry, Jan Rutta, Dmitry Kulikov and Marcus Pettersson are all sidelined with various ailments. Things have become so dire for the Penguins that even potential call-ups Ty Smith and Xavier Ouellet are hurt as well.

The timing of these injuries could not be worse for Pittsburgh, they are in a dogfight with the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have been forced to dive deep into their AHL lineup to find replacements for their injured rearguards and are now using the Taylor Fedun to fill out their roster. Fedun played Monday night against the Ottawa Senators and was fine in a sheltered role, but should the Penguins defense ever get healthy he would likely be the 12th defenseman.

Petry has not had a great first season in Pittsburgh, he has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout the season. When he has played, he has largely been okay, but with a cap hit of $6.25MM the Penguins can’t afford for him to be just okay. The Michigan native has 26 points in 52 games and has been a valuable part of Marcus Pettersson’s development this season, but he has had trouble at times matching the foot speed of the young forwards on some of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Conference rivals.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Bryan Rust left yesterday’s Penguins practice in disgust after taking a Jason Zucker shot off his right hand. Rust returned a short time later and no update was provided on the incident. Pittsburgh will not practice today, which means we likely won’t have any updates until their game this evening with the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Rossi did tweet that Rust’s return to the ice for practice appeared to be a good sign. It has been a difficult season for the 30-year-old forward, he has 38 points in 69 games which is well off his near point a game pace from the three previous seasons. He has appeared visibly frustrated in recent weeks, the most obvious instance being in Monday’s game against Ottawa when his failure to clear the zone on a Senators powerplay led to the game winning goal.
  • Rob Rossi of The Athletic is also reporting that Casey DeSmith did not participate in Penguins practice yesterday. While he was not injured, he was apparently forced back to the team’s hotel with an illness. Not much else is known, but it could create another interesting development for the Penguins as they have a back-to-back tonight in Colorado and then in Dallas tomorrow against the Stars. DeSmith stood on his head earlier this season with a 41 save win against the Avalanche and would have presumably started tonight or tomorrow’s game. Should he remain sick it could force the Penguins to use Jarry in both games, which is something they may be hesitant to do given Jarry’s play lately. The Surrey native has struggled in recent weeks having been pulled in four of his previous 11 starts, this has cratered his save percentage which now sits at just .907 for the season. Not ideal for a goaltender who is just over three months away from unrestricted free agency.

New York Islanders Recall Samuel Bolduc

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The New York Islanders have announced a couple of roster moves ahead of tomorrow night’s matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders announced that defenseman Samuel Bolduc has been recalled from Bridgeport and in a subsequent move Otto Koivula has been sent back to Bridgeport on loan.

Bolduc was the Islanders 2019 second round pick and was an AHL all-star this season with 35 points in 56 games. He’s dressed in six games with the Islanders notching a single goal while averaging over 15 minutes of ice time per game. Bolduc will likely replace Sebastian Aho after Aho was injured in Saturday’s 4-1 win over San Jose with an apparent upper body injury.

Bolduc has had quite the bounce back after struggling through most of last season. In 57 games last year he managed only 7 points and looked lost at times. Now a year later the Laval native has found his game and will get another opportunity at the NHL level.

For Otto Koivula he once again finds himself shuttled back to Bridgeport in what is now his fifth season in the AHL. Koivula managed two assists in eight games while with the big club which brings his NHL point total to four assists in 26 career NHL games. Koivula has been a dependable scorer in the AHL in previous seasons but has struggled this year with just 25 points in 45 AHL games. Koivula still hasn’t been able to use his 6’5” frame to turn into the power forward the Islanders hoped he would become when they drafted him in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL entry draft. At 24 years of age time could be running out for the young Finn to establish himself as an everyday NHL forward.

The Islanders currently sit in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference two points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins and three points up on the Florida Panthers, although both teams have games in hand on the Islanders. They are still without the services of Mathew Barzal who has been out of their lineup for over a month with a lower body injury. This has further depleted the offense for a team that already struggled to score goals this season. With very little margin for error, Bolduc will likely be expected to come into the Islanders lineup to provide them with sound defensive hockey.

Marcus Pettersson Put On LTIR By Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Marcus Pettersson has been put on LTIR retroactive to March 18th. Pettersson left in the third period of Saturday’s 6-0 loss against the New York Rangers with what is being described as a lower body injury. Pettersson was shuttled back and forth from the bench to the dressing room a few times in that game but was eventually shutdown when it became out of reach.

The Penguin’s defense has been decimated by injuries in the past week. Right shot defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta are both already sidelined by ailments, and now Pettersson has joined them. The Penguins open the week against the Ottawa Senators this evening and will have to try and battle without half of their starting defense. They already brought up Mark Friedman on the weekend, and now have recalled Taylor Fedun who skated with the team this morning at practice.

Fedun is the captain of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and last played in the NHL during the 2019-20 season when he had 9 points for the Dallas Stars in 27 games. Fedun won’t offer the Penguins much offense, but he is a defensively sound and capable replacement for the Penguins short term. So far in the AHL this season, Fedun has 10 points in 53 games.

It’s a tough break for Pettersson and the Penguins as he has really flourished this season in an expanded role. He has spent large stretches on the Penguins top defensive unit next to Kris Letang and has played some terrific hockey. Coming into Saturday’s loss, Pettersson had 11 points in his previous 10 games and was just a single point away from matching his career high. This is a far cry from a year ago when the Penguins tried to move on from Pettersson but couldn’t find any takers for the Swedish defenseman.

The Penguins will try and overcome this hurdle beginning tonight at home to the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh currently sits seven points ahead of Ottawa for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to play. The Penguins have been on a slide having lost three games in a row, including the blowout loss to the Rangers. The Penguins have been an uneven team throughout the year having gone on several lengthy winning and losing streaks. For now, they control their postseason fate, but with a surging Florida Panthers team sitting one point back, they could be prone to a letdown in what has been a disappointing season thus far.

Roman Josi Listed As Day-To-Day

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that Roman Josi is day-to-day after leaving the Nashville Predators 3-2 overtime loss to Winnipeg yesterday. Josi did not make Nashville’s scheduled trip to New York for tonight’s game against the Rangers.

Not much is known about Josi’s injury as he joins a long list of Predators players who are out of the lineup. Nashville is already short on manpower as they are without the services of Ryan Johansen, Juuso Parssinen, Alexandre Carrier, Filip Forsberg, and Ryan McDonagh. Now they will be forced to navigate Josi’s injury as they try and chase down a wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Nashville has struggled to score this season with just 191 goals in 67 games, good enough for 28th in the NHL. Josi’s injury could further complicate matters as he leads the Predators in scoring with 59 points on the season. Despite the offensive struggles, Nashville sits just five points back of Winnipeg for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with three games in hand.

It seems improbable that Nashville could make the playoffs given the recent injuries as well as the recent trade deadline sell off, but somehow they have hung around, largely due to the play of Josi and goaltender Juuse Saros. Josi has been a horse for the Predators having averaged over 25 minutes of ice time a night. The former Norris Trophy winner hasn’t had the kind of offensive production he enjoyed last season, but he has led a defensive unit that is ranked ninth in the league in goals against.

Darcy Kuemper Will Not Dress Today For Washington Capitals

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Washington Post reporter Roman Stubbs is reporting that the Washington Capitals will be without starting netminder Darcy Kuemper today when they battle the Minnesota Wild. Kuemper left the Capitals practice yesterday with what is being called an upper body injury. He is now listed as day-to-day. Charlie Lindgren will start in Kuemper’s place.

This recent development is a tough break for the Washington Capitals as they currently sit five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals have just 12 games remaining on the season and need to scoop up every point they can if they want to leapfrog the Florida Panthers and the Penguins to grab the final wild card spot.

The Capitals were conservative sellers at the trade deadline after recognizing the precarious position they were in. Despite moving on from several players they have managed to tread water in the difficult Eastern Conference. Should Kuemper be out for any length of time one would have to think that the Capitals will be unlikely to qualify for the postseason.

Kuemper has had a challenging first year in Washington after signing a five-year contract in the offseason on the heels of a Stanley Cup run with the Colorado Avalanche. The Capitals had hopes that he could stabilize their goaltending situation after years of uncertainty between the pipes. Kuemper’s play has been uneven this season as his save percentage has dropped from .921 to .910, while his goals saved above expected has gone from 21 last season to just 7.9 this season. He’s been okay for the Capitals, but given the contract they handed out last summer, his play has been underwhelming.

College Notes: Buckeyes, Badgers, McCarthy

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The Ohio State Buckeyes women’s hockey team will have a chance to repeat as national champions after they advanced to Sunday’s NCAA final with a 3-0 win over Northeastern. Ohio State is the No.1 seed in this year’s tournament and they showed why with a dominant effort that was not truly reflected on the scoreboard. The Buckeyes outshot Northeastern 53-15 and dominated huge stretches of the game despite Northeastern having a sizable powerplay advantage of 4-1.

After today’s win, Ohio State is now 7-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. This will be the second championship game that Ohio State has played in program history, which began back in the 1999-00 season. The National Championship goes Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.

Other notes from around college hockey:

  • The Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team also advanced to Sunday’s NCAA national championship game with a 3-2 overtime win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Wisconsin nearly won the game in regulation. However, Minnesota turned up the pressure with the net empty late in the game and were able to get the equalizer with 1:11 remaining in the third period. Credit goes to Wisconsin as they were able to overcome the blown lead and get the game-winner in overtime. K.K. Harvey was the eventual goal scorer for the Badgers as she ripped a wrist shot from the right circle with 3:13 left in the first overtime. For the Badgers they will be seeking their seventh national title when they battle Ohio State on Sunday, having last won the championship in 2021.
  • NHL Network’s Renaud Lavoie is reporting that New Jersey Devils 2019 fourth-round pick Case McCarthy left tonight’s Boston University game on a stretcher after a scary incident. McCarthy slammed his back awkwardly into the end boards midway through the third period after a collision with Providence’s Patrick Moynihan. He was able to get back to his feet to a loud ovation but was stretchered off the ice a short time later. He was taken to hospital and is currently under observation. Boston went on to beat Providence 2-1 in overtime to advance to the Hockey East title game.

Evening Notes: Prince, Foote, Levi

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Former New York Islanders forward Shane Prince signed an extension today with Spartak Moskva to remain in the KHL for the 2023-24 season. The Rochester, New York native never quite found his scoring touch in the NHL, scoring just 12 goals in 128 games with the Islanders and the Ottawa Senators. However, since joining the KHL he has 57 goals in 220 games. Prince was once thought of as a potential top-9 forward in the Ottawa Senators farm system after he notched 65 points in 72 AHL games in 2014-15, but he was unable to develop a consistent scoring touch in the NHL and found himself out of the league by 2018.

This season Prince has 35 points in 50 games and has found a home as a top-6 forward with Spartak. With his extension the 30-year-old has decided to forgo an opportunity to try and get back to the NHL for the time being. Although given the recent trend in the NHL to go younger, it seemed highly unlikely that the former second round pick would have another crack at a NHL job. Should he continue to show his recent scoring touch, he could find an NHL team calling in the summer of 2024 with an offer of a tryout or a two-way contract.

Some notes from around the NHL:

  • The New Jersey Devils announced today that they have recalled forward Nolan Foote from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. Foote has dressed in 49 AHL games this season scoring 18 goals and 12 assists. He was with the big club for their recent California swing through Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose, but played sparingly in his last outing as he saw just 3:08 of ice time. The 22-year-old was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 but has struggled to find the consistency he displayed in his AHL rookie season where he scored 17 points in 24 games. With his recall, Foote will have another opportunity to show the Devils that he is part of their young core moving forward.
  • Fresh off signing Devon Levi to an entry level contract, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams appears to have decided to keep the young netminder in Buffalo for the time being. The Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowski quotes Adams as saying “We’ll kind of take it day by day, but we just thought for his development, where we are right now, this was a critical time for him to learn and grow with us and that’s why he’s coming right in.” For the Sabres it makes sense to have the young netminder shadow a veteran like Craig Anderson. Levi has had a rocket like trajectory as he has come from out of nowhere after being drafted in the seventh round and playing CCHL Tier 1 hockey in Ontario for the 2019-20 season. Should he continue on this path he could be the Sabres goaltender of the future.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

San Jose Sharks Assign Shakir Mukhamadullin To AHL

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The San Jose Sharks welcomed Shakir Mukhamadullin to North America today. The 6’4” 195-pound defensemen arrived in San Jose this morning after travelling from Russia. He was acquired by the Sharks in last month’s Timo Meier trade with the New Jersey Devils. San Jose quickly assigned Mukhamadullin to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL where it appears he will finish the season after just completing his fourth year with Salavat Yulayev-Ufa of the KHL.

It is not yet known when the 2020 first round pick will suit up for his first game, but early indications are that he could play as early as this weekend against the Texas Stars. Should he not be ready to play by the end of the week, he will likely dress against Colorado next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Salavat was just eliminated from the playoffs in the KHL conference quarterfinals, now the young defenseman will have an opportunity to make a playoff push with the Barracuda as they have just 12 games left in the regular season. The Barracuda will certainly welcome the addition as they are without their top defenseman Derrick Pouliot who has been playing with the Sharks recently.

Contractually, Mukhamadullin was loaned (by New Jersey) to Salavat Yulayev Ufa at the start of the season, meaning that he will play out the string under the first year of his entry-level deal. He was also on loan to Salavat last season but did not burn the first year of his contract, despite dressing in three playoff games for the Utica Comets.

Artturi Lehkonen Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche have announced that Artturi Lehkonen will not return to tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after leaving with an apparent upper-body injury.

It was quite an eventful night for Lehkonen who was playing in his first game back in Montreal since being traded to Colorado in March of 2022. Lehkonen received a video tribute and a standing ovation from the Montreal crowd, then followed it up by adding two goals and an assist in less than two periods of play. The injury puts a damper on what was an incredible return to Montreal for the former second round pick.

Lehkonen has been red hot as of late with seven points in his past five games. He’s been everything Colorado could have hoped for when they dealt a second-round pick and Justin Barron to Montreal for him just under a year ago. Lehkonen has flourished this season with a career high 49 points in 62 games. This after scoring 14 points in 20 games last postseason in Colorado’s magical run to the Stanley Cup.

Should Lehkonen miss any time it will be a big blow for an Avalanche team that has dealt with a multitude of injuries throughout this season. Colorado is already missing Josh Manson, Gabriel Landeskog, Darren Helm, Erik Johnson, and goaltender Pavel Francouz. Despite the injuries, Colorado has maintained stellar team defense this season as they rank seventh in the league in goals against. The Avalanche currently hold the final wild card spot in the west, but they have struggled as of late having dropped four of their last six games coming into tonight.

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