The Penguins are heading into the final stretch of October with a familiar mix of issues hanging over them: injuries, uneven results and the ongoing search for a lineup that can put together more than one good night at a time.
Pittsburgh’s 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Oct. 22 offered a clean snapshot of what this group can look like when things line up. Arturs Silovs posted the shutout, and the game stood out as one of the brighter moments in a season that has not been especially smooth in net. The next step, though, is repeating that kind of effort instead of treating it like a one-off.
That challenge gets tougher with bodies coming out of the lineup. Bryan Rust is the biggest confirmed loss so far after suffering a lower-body injury in the Oct. 19 defeat to the Utah Mammoth.
He was placed on injured reserve, and the Penguins said he will be re-evaluated in six weeks. That takes one of the team’s more established offensive pieces out of the mix for the foreseeable future.
Egor Chinakhov is also dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. He sat out the Oct. 24 game against Nashville, and his status for the Oct. 29 matchup with Utah will depend on how he responds.
Evgeni Malkin was another absence against Nashville because of an illness. He did get on the ice for an optional morning skate, but Pittsburgh still kept him out of the lineup. His return is another key item to track as the week unfolds.
The Penguins’ blue line has its own issues. Samuel Girard was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 24 after missing two games with an undisclosed injury.
Trevor van Riemsdyk has also shown up on the injury report with a lower-body injury. On top of that, the team placed Ben Kindel on injured reserve after a medical episode during the flight back to Salt Lake City on Oct.
- The Penguins said Kindel was conscious, alert and in stable condition after being taken to hospital for further evaluation, and the organization said more updates would come when appropriate.
All of that leaves Sidney Crosby carrying a heavier load. With Rust out and Malkin’s availability recently interrupted, the Penguins need their remaining forwards to do more.
Crosby remains the center of the attack, but this is about more than just one player picking up the slack. Line combinations are harder to settle when key pieces are missing, and Dan Muse has to keep sorting through a forward group that needs offense without giving away too much the other way.
The bigger picture is still manageable, at least for now. Pittsburgh’s comeback against Nashville on Oct. 24 left the club at 5-6-1, with 11 points and sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. That record does not buy much comfort, but it does keep the Penguins within range of the teams ahead of them.
This week’s schedule will give the group a chance to do something about it. Pittsburgh has two games on tap, beginning with Utah on Oct. 29 before a road trip to Montreal. The rematch with the Mammoth comes with a little extra edge after Pittsburgh’s 5-4 loss on Oct. 19, while the Montreal game brings the usual road-game demands - cleaner puck management, tighter defensive coverage and fewer extended shifts spent in the wrong end.
For the Penguins, the formula is pretty clear. They need better health, steadier goaltending and a little more consistency from night to night. The talent to stay in the race is there, but the early standings leave no room for drifting.
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Rickard Rakells late goal dragged the game out of regulation and gave the building the kind of finish fans had been waiting for. From there, Ville Koivunen stepped into the spotlight and capped the comeback in overtime, giving the Penguins a result that felt valuable not just for the two points, but for the way the group found a response despite all the absences around it. [Read more 🡒]