Egor Chinakhov’s recent climb in the Penguins’ lineup hit a snag Friday, when a lower-body injury suffered in practice kept the winger out of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Per Josh Yohe of The Athletic, there is no timeline yet for his return.
His absence gave Ville Koivunen a bigger stage and a bigger assignment. Koivunen moved into a second-line spot alongside Thomas Novak and Evgeni Malkin, and the move paid off at least once: Malkin opened the scoring with Koivunen assisting on the play. That group also found itself on the ice for one goal against, and Koivunen added power-play reps in Chinakhov’s place, though Pittsburgh came up empty on the man-advantage.
The injury also opened the door for Elmer Söderblom to dress for just his third game of the season. He finished with no points and a minus-one, the only change to his stat line this year. Söderblom is still trying to rediscover the touch that helped him produce 10 points in 20 games with Pittsburgh last season after the Trade Deadline deal that sent a third-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings.
For the Penguins, the timing matters because Chinakhov had already cooled off after a fast start. The 25-year-old scored in the season opener and added an assist in the next game, then went scoreless over his last five appearances despite averaging two shots and 15 minutes of ice time per night. That slowdown - following a scorching run of 36 points in 43 games with Pittsburgh last season - had already put him in a fight for second-line minutes.
Now the injury may create a chance for Koivunen to seize that job. Through six games, he has three points and a plus-three, and he looked comfortable alongside Malkin on Friday.
A steady hold on that role would only strengthen the surprising long-term extension Koivunen signed this summer. If Chinakhov returns and Koivunen stays put, Chinakhov could slide into a third-line look with Andrei Kuzmenko and Benjamin Kindel.
How long he’s out will go a long way toward deciding that.
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