Penguins’ Samuel Girard being evaluated for lower-body injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins might have to hold off on playing with their shiny new toy for a little while.
Just a few days after the Penguins acquired defenseman Samuel Girard and a second-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Brett Kulak, Girard missed practice on Friday and is now being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
Defenseman Sam Girard will not practice today as he is undergoing evaluation for a lower-body injury.
Girard, 27, had the opportunity to appear in just one game for Pittsburgh since coming over in the trade, playing just shy of 18 minutes in the Penguins’ 4-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
It’s unclear if Girard suffered the injury during Thursday’s game, or if it is a lingering issue that was recently aggravated. The Roberval, Quebec native missed 15 games with an upper-body injury earlier this season.
In 41 total games played this season, Girard has three goals and nine assists for 12 points.
Initially selected by the Nashville Predators in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Girard played just five games for the Predators before getting dealt to Colorado in November of 2017 as part of the three-team trade that saw the Ottawa Senators receive Matt Duchene and Nashville receive Kyle Turris.
Girard would go on to play eight-plus seasons with the Avalanche, winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 and having a career-best campaign of six goals and 31 assists for 37 points over 76 games in the 2022-23 season.
The Penguins are in the midst of a surprisingly strong season. With 72 points through 57 games, they sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division and are on pace to make the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Pittsburgh is scheduled for a pair of matinee games over the weekend, as they will visit the New York Rangers on Saturday before returning home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.