Penguins’ Joel Blomqvist out at least four weeks with lower-body injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Friday that goaltender Joel Blomqvist is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks after suffering a lower-body injury.
Although it is unknown when the injury occurred, Blomqvist has made a lone appearance in the 2025-26 preseason, coming Monday against the Montreal Canadiens in which he turned aside 11 shots in about a period-and-a-half of action.
Set to enter his second season with Pittsburgh, the 23-year-old Finnish-born netminder saw 15 appearances with the Penguins a year ago in which he went 4-9-1 coupled with an .885 save percentage and 3.81 goals-against average. Blomqvist also made 18 appearances with the AHL affiliated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in which he posted an 8-7-3 record alongside a .914 save percentage and 2.84 goals-against average with one shutout.
In all, through part of four seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Blomqvist stands 33-21-10 with a .918 save percentage, 2.38 goals-against average, plus a pair of shutouts.
Blomqvist was originally chosen by the Penguins in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Per PuckPedia, Blomqvist is entering the final year of a three-year pact that carries an $886,667 average annual value and can become a restricted free agent in the upcoming offseason.
With Blomqvist sidelined, the Penguins will turn to expected starter Tristan Jarry. Entering his 10th season with the Penguins, the 30-year-old native of Surrey, B.C., closed out the 2024-25 campaign with a 16-12-6 record coupled with an .893 save percentage and 3.09 goals-against average. Jarry also saw 12 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers in January. With the minor-league club, Jarry went 6-5-1 with a .908 save percentage and 2.67 goals-against average and one shutout.
The Penguins begin the 2025-26 season on October 7 in Manhattan versus the Metropolitan Division rival New York Rangers. The Penguins last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2022, falling to the Rangers in a seven-game opening-round set.