Our poor penguins can’t seem to catch a break.
We won’t get there sooner Justin Brazeau And Noel Acciari back from IR then two more guys go on the shelf. Key boys, I might add.
Centers Evgeni Malkin And Blake Lizotte are posted on IR every week. Geno’s condition is reportedly in the upper body, Lizotte’s has not been disclosed.
However long and short it is…literally? The injuries rob the Pens of their most dynamic attacking player on this side Sidney Crosby in Malkin (29 points in 26 games), not to mention their emotional pulse, and their fourth-line anchor/penalty killing pivot in Lizotte.
A real shame, as the team was on a 4-1-1 roll and seemed to be coming out of a November-long funk.
With corresponding moves, the club remembered the two best scorers of the Baby Pens, Sam Poulin And Danton Heinen. The former has 20 points in 21 games at Wilkes, including nine goals, the latter 18 points (6+12) in ten games.
Heinen produced strong underlying numbers during a nine-game spell with the Pens earlier this season, but no goal. Poulin appeared for us in two games without a point.
I guess coach And Muse will continue to deploy veteran Kevin Hayes in Geno’s slot on the ‘Big Line’, at least for now. Heinen and Poulin could both have problems filling out the fourth line, with Acciari perhaps shifting from wing to centre.
#Penguins #update #Malkin #Lizotte