The Penguins’ center situation is already getting thin, and Ben Kindel’s latest injury update only makes it more complicated.
Kindel has been moved from day-to-day to week-to-week after the injury he suffered in the first period of Monday night’s preseason game. He was limited to that opening period, and TV cameras showed him blocking a weak shot toward the foot late in the frame. He also drove hard into the net twice, leaving open the possibility that he twisted something or picked up the injury there.
That leaves Pittsburgh with another hole to manage just six days before the regular season opens in Philadelphia. The team is already working with what could be its fourth line to start the year in tonight’s game, with Filip Hallander set to skate alongside Connor Dewar, who has been shifted to center, and Elmer Soderblom.
The depth chart down the middle is being hit from more than one angle. Along with Kindel, center Blake Lizotte was also listed as out with a week-to-week injury.
There is at least some chance for movement by Saturday’s final preseason game. Most of Pittsburgh’s top players are expected to play in that one, and Hendrix Lapierre could be elevated into Kindel’s spot.
That line has included Andrei Kuzmenko and Bryan Rust, though Kuzmenko is away from the team after returning to Russia following his father’s death, and there is no known return date. That could force even more changes before the season gets rolling.
In Other News...
Penguins Camp Cuts Put Real Pressure On The Opening Night Battle
The first training camp cuts have already sharpened the picture in Pittsburgh, where the early roster move sends a clear signal that the Penguins are sorting through more than just bodies on the ice. Pittsburgh Hockey Now also projected the opening lineup and flagged that there could still be changes during the season, which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that hangs over a camp when the margin for error is thin.
For the players still in the mix, the next few days matter more now because the opening night battle is no longer a broad competition, it is becoming a test of who can hold a spot when the roster starts to settle. Around the league, there are other developments adding to the backdrop, from Columbus talking contract with Adam Fantilli to a few notable names surfacing on waivers, but in Pittsburgh the focus is much more immediate: who stays in the frame, and who gets pushed further down the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospect Ben Kindel Faces A Bigger Setback Than Expected
Ben Kindels early push toward the season hit an unexpected roadblock almost immediately, as the Penguins center is now facing a more serious injury than the team first believed. The setback came in the first period of Pittsburghs opening preseason game, and what initially looked manageable has turned into a week-to-week recovery, a frustrating development for a prospect trying to make his mark in camp.
For an organization that has been trying to sharpen the path for its young players, the timing is less than ideal. Pittsburgh has spent plenty of time working through the logistics and growing pains in its minor league pipeline, including travel complications after its ECHL affiliate relocated, while also trying to build a more competitive development system. Kindels absence adds another variable to that process, and it leaves the Penguins waiting to see how long one of their prospects will be sidelined. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Forward Andrei Kuzmenko Is Dealing With An Unimaginable Loss
Andrei Kuzmenko is dealing with a devastating personal loss after his father, Alexander Kuzmenko, died following a bear attack during a fishing trip in the Tuva Republic of Russia. The elder Kuzmenko suffered severe facial injuries and could not be saved by doctors, leaving the Penguins forward and his family with a tragedy far removed from the game but impossible to separate from it.
Alexander Kuzmenko was widely known as a hockey coach, which made the loss resonate well beyond one family. The incident also comes during a record year of bear attacks in Russia, a grim backdrop to an already unimaginable story for a player trying to navigate life in the middle of the NHL season. [Read more 🡒]