The Penguins recent winning streak came to an end after losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a shootout on Saturday night. But after losing and ending their win streak, it also has seemed to come with a cost.
First-line forward Rickard Rakell left the game in the third period after blocking a shot and did not return. And after the game, head coach Dan Muse did not have an update when asked about it by the media. So assuming that Rakell is going to miss some time, there is going to be an easy replacement for him, at least there should be.
No substantive update on Rakell's status following the game. https://t.co/P43J3zZBAJ
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) October 26, 2025
The Penguins can do the right thing and call Ville Koivunen back from the Penguins AHL squad the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Koivunen is the ideal replacement if Rakell needs to go on IR or needs to miss a bit and avoid IR.
Koivunen started the season with the Penguins and on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rakell, but did not seem to do much there and was sent to Wilkes-Barre. But with Rakell now being out for the time being, they should recall Koivunen and give him another shot.
Koivunen has been tearing it up in the AHL as of late, as he has played 6 games and scored 4 goals and has 7 assists for a total of 11 points. He has just been making players down in the AHL look silly whenever he takes the ice.
He is just miles better than almost everyone down in the AHL and he has been making that point proven as of late. He definitely seems ready to come back up to the NHL and get another chance to play with Crosby and Bryan Rust this time and see if he can start producing like he does in the AHL.
We will see what the Penguins have to do regarding Rakell and if a roster move needs to be made depending on if Rakell goes on IR or not. The Penguins hope Rakell will not be out for long, but if he is, Koivunen needs to get the call.