Lyubushkin had four assists in 41 games with the Coyotes this season. The 25-year-old defenseman came to the NHL after spending six years in the KHL. Lyubushkin will likely serve as the Coyotes No.6/No.7 defenseman in 2019-20.
Lyubushkin is expected to play in Pittsburgh because Alex Goligoski is out with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old defenseman has averaged just 12:10 TOI/gm in five games with the Coyotes this season. Lyubushkin has posted an ugly 47.3 CorsiFor%, -8.5 CF% rel with Arizona this season, so this is a big downgrade from the veteran Goligoski.
Lyubushkin has averaging just 12:25 TOI/GM in the first three games of his NHL career. Lyubushkin will be replaced by Jordan Oesterle on the Coyotes third pairing.
