John Ludvig Painful NHL Debut

John Ludvig NHL Debut

John Ludvig was making his NHL debut Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars. He was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers before the season started. Ludvig was slated to play next to Ryan Shea on the third line defensive pairing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Painful & Short Debut

At 10:41 remaining  in the second period, Ludvig threw a hit towards Stars Radek Faksa around center ice. However, Ludvig was the one who got the worse of the exchange as he was briefly knocked unconscious. After being face down and not moving for several minutes, he eventually got up and left the ice while being assisted by teammates Marcus Pettersson and Noel Acciari. He finished his NHL debut with just 5:29 minutes of ice time, a -1 in +/-, and a 4-1 loss.

When the hit happened, PPG Paints Arena went completely silent with all of the fans both Penguins and Stars fans gave their undivided attention to Ludvig in hopes he was ok. Head coach Mike Sullivan mentioned after the game he was being evaluated and was almost knocked out from the hit. He also added it is a scary moment but they are hopeful he will be ok.

When Will Ludvig Return?

Ludvig was absent from practice Thursday morning most likely as expected after just suffering the injury a day prior. However, there was no definitive update on when he will be back. The Penguins next contest is Thursday night at home against the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche currently have the longest road game winning streak in NHL history at 15 games. After a recent update, Ludvig has suffered a concussion from the hit.

Who Takes Ludvig’s Spot?

If Ludvig needs to miss additional time, the Penguins will look to either Pierre-Olivier Joseph or Chad Ruhwedel. However, both have been rather lackluster to say the least early on this season.

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