The Pittsburgh Penguins recently defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 with what seemed like nobody having to leave the game early or any injuries in general, but that does not seem to be the case. The Penguins announced that second-line forward Justin Brazeau will miss Saturday's road game at the Winnipeg Jets with an injury.
Forward Justin Brazeau is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will not play today. pic.twitter.com/4F3tGohJyN
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) November 1, 2025
Penguins fans do not seem to know what happened to the grinding forward, but head coach Dan Muse said it is a day-to-day thing and he will miss Saturday's game. Having to miss a tough road game against the Jets for Brazeau is not a great feeling.
The Penguins second line of Brazeau-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha has been on quite a roll to start the season. Every time that line is on the ice, it seems like they are driving play and finding any possible way to get the puck into the back of the net.
So far through 12 games this season, Brazeau has scored 6 goals and has added 6 assists and currently sits at a point-per-game to start his season. Malkin has scored 3 goals and added 14 assists through the first 12 games of the NHL season. Mantha has scored 6 goals and added 5 assists through the first 12 games of the year.
Combined, Brazeau-Malkin-Mantha have combined for 40 points to begin the year and that line has been one of the Penguins best all-season long. To be missing Brazeau for arguably the biggest game of the year so far, makes this game that much harder to handle.
Hopefully forward Philip Tomasino can do his best to fill the shoes of the gritty second-line forward. It is a tall task as Tomasino is not nearly as big and strong as Brazeau is, but he will definitely do his best. The Penguins will do their best to defeat one of the West's best without Brazeau, but it will be a tough task.