Injuries have hit the Capitals’ Metro division rival Pittsburgh Penguins hard to start the season. So hard, in fact, that they were unable to ice a fourth line at practice on Tuesday.
You hate to see it.
Evgeni Malkin, Nick Bjugstad, and Bryan Rust are the big-name players all out on long-term injured reserve, with Justin Almeida and Zach Trotman also out.
#Pens lines:
Guentzel-Crosby-Simon
Galchenyuk-McCann-Tanev
Aston-Reese/Kahun-Blueger-HornqvistDumoulin-Letang
Schultz-Pettersson
Johnson-Gudbranson-Riikola
Ruhwedel-Marino-SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 7, 2019
Malkin left the game against Columbus on Saturday after tripping over the skates of Kris Letang, sliding into the boards, and sustaining a hit from Vladislav Gavrikov. Bjugstad also left during the same game, but it is unclear how he sustained his injury.
Malkin trips over Letang and takes a bump while on his knee. He slowly but immediately heads down the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/qbLCSIgOiU
— ToughCall 🇨🇦 (@ToughCallBlog) October 6, 2019
The Penguins recalled Sam Lafferty and Andrew Agozzino from their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Monday to ensure they have enough players for their game on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
Having a fourth line is certainly an improvement, at least.
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