Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Injury Update

By Kayleigh Jackson |

The injury bug has bitten the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again, and this time it’s right on the doorstep of the playoffs. Who might be back for game 1?

The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ injury list this season has sounded like a broken record: Malkin’s hurt. Fehr’s hurt. Bennett’s hurt. Fleury’s hurt. Malkin’s hurt. Fehr’s hurt. Bennett’s hurt. Fleury’s hurt.

Repeat ad nauseam.

The Pens have stepped up admirably to play as good as, if not better than, they were with some of these players in the lineup. Especially lately, with Evgeni Malkin out, the boys in black and gold have been phenomenal.

This morning, head coach Mike Sullivan offered an update on the lengthy injured list and who may be back in the lineup for game 1. As a reminder, the Penguins are officially playing the New York Rangers in the first round and have home-ice advantage.

All things considered, he had pretty good news. Marc-Andre Fleury and Olli Maatta both practiced with the team this morning. Malkin, Beau Bennett, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust are all day-to-day.

Vague? Absolutely. But that’s to be expected, of course – the NHL is always imprecise about injuries, and any specific weaknesses revealed in the playoffs become targets. The Rangers and Pens are big rivals and familiar playoff opponents, this being their third straight year of meeting in the postseason.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not confirm the specific area where players are hurt, if it could at all be avoided.

That’s why Murray is listed with an “upper-body injury” rather than a head injury or concussion. Looking at how he was hurt in the regular-season conclusion against the Philadelphia Flyers, it’s more than likely that he does actually have some degree of head trauma.

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Murray, who took over as starting goalie when Fleury went out with a concussion of his own, was amazing. Now with the two top goalies out, we’re looking at a goaltending tandem of Jeff Zatkoff and Tristan Jarry.

Luckily, it’s increasingly looking like calling up Jarry was only a precautionary move. Fleury took shots for the first time in practice this morning and seemed hopeful to be back in net for game 1. Murray didn’t join practice, but that’s not a major setback.

Having Fleury so close to a return and Murray only “day to day” has to be a boost for the team. Getting one or both of them back during the first round would be amazing – and realistically, is probably the only way to move past the first round.

I’m certainly not encouraging them to come back before they are fully healed; in fact, just the opposite. Concussions are serious business with lasting effects, even when you let them run their course before you return to action. Goalies especially are prone to repeated concussions – Fleury’s had two this season alone.

If luck is on the Pens’ side, though, we’ll have them both back quickly.

Maatta rejoined the team for practice this morning along with Fleury after missing the last nine games of the regular season. This hasn’t been the best season of his young career, but he works well with Kris Letang on the top defensive pair.

Trevor Daley has been matched with Letang since Maatta’s injury. Both defensemen are fast skaters, fitting in perfectly with the Penguins’ speedy system, but sometimes it’s looked like their style of play is just too similar to be effective.

Malkin has been out with an upper-body injury and was not predicted to return until 6-8 weeks had passed, putting him back during or after the second round of the playoffs. His new status of day-to-day may not necessarily mean he’s recovering ahead of time, but the threat of his imminent return may throw off the Rangers.

The Penguins have been outstanding without him in the lineup and his return will shake things up. Of course, he’ll be a huge asset wherever he slots back in; on the other hand, where will he go?

Nick Bonino has taken over Malkin’s role as second-line center and has been a huge x-factor for the team. He’s been a pure force on the penalty kill and is a member of one of the best second lines in the NHL. We’ll have to wait and see what happens when Geno is back, though.

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As far as the other injuries go, bottom-sixers Bennett and Rust did not practice with the team this morning. In Bennett’s short time back in the lineup, he was part of a strong bottom line with Conor Sheary and Oskar Sundqvist. These three young guys are fast and sneaky, an offensive fourth line rather than a physical one.

Rust made a pretty decent impact prior to his lower-body injury and he had some solid rapport with Sidney Crosby. Rushing players back before they’re fully healthy or well-conditioned may hurt more than it helps, especially in the case of those who haven’t been able to even skate on their own yet.

The playoffs require serious concentration and conditioning, but also serious chemistry. Many players are hurt but the Penguins have dealt with these situations before. The constant shake-ups in the lineup throughout this entire season provided frequent, lower-stakes opportunities for players to rotate around and see how they play with others.

The first playoff game is in two days. Hopefully, that “day-to-day” status equates to this same time frame.

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