Line Change
Riikola will be a healthy scratch on Thursady.
Bjugstad underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury and will miss at least eight weeks.
Bjugstad will miss his third straight game on Thursday and will miss at least two months after undergoing surgery today. Injuries have devastated the Penguins in the first two months of the season but they’ve continued to win games. Luckily, they’ll get Patric Hornqvist back to replace Bjugstad on Thursday.
Hornqvist (lower-body) will return to the Penguins lineup on Thursday.
Hornqvist has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury but will play Thursday vs. the Islanders. The Penguins finally get some good news on the injury front but will still be without Sidney Crosby and Nick Bjugstad up front tonight. Hornqvist has five goals and five assists (10 points) in 14 games this season.
Schultz will be out “longer-term” with a lower-body injury.
Schultz was questionable heading into Thursday’s game but the news is much worse for the Penguins. Injuries continue to pile up for Pittsburgh, who are already without Kris Letang on the back-end. John Marino and Brian Dumoulin will continue to be leaned on heavily at even-strength and Marcus Pettersson and Jusso Riikola should see a bump in PP usage.
Goalie Start
Murray will start Thursday against the Islanders.
Source: @penguins 11/21/19, 5:20 pm EST
Goalie Start
Murray will start Tuesday vs. the Islanders.
Murray allowed two goals on 21 shots in the Penguins' 2-1 loss in New Jersey last Friday. Tristan Jarry started Saturday, so they come back to Murray tonight vs. the Islanders. In his last six starts, Murray has gone 2-1-2 with a 2.68 GAA and .894 SV%. With a ton of injuries in front of him, wins are going to be hard to come by but Murray should turn in strong splits. He stopped 20 of 23 shots in a 4-3 OT win in his first start vs. the Islanders.
Bjugstad will not play on Saturday; still being evaluated.
Goalie Start
Jarry will start Saturday vs. the Maple Leafs.
The Penguins have recalled Joseph Blandisi from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Blandisi has one goal and one assist in seven games with the Penguins this season. During his time in the AHL, he has picked up four points (2G / 2A) in eight games. He will take Sidney Crosby's place on the roster.
The Penguins have placed Sidney Crosby (mid-body) on IR.
Crosby is expected to miss at least six weeks so the move to IR was simply a formality to open up a roster spot to call-up some reinforcements--in this case, it's Joseph Blandisi.
Goalie Start
Murray will start Friday in New Jersey.
Crosby underwent core muscle surgery on Thursday; will miss at least six weeks.
Crosby has been dealing with a nagging sports hernia and opted for surgery on Thursday. This is obviously a massive blow for the Penguins but Evgeni Malkin has often elevated his game when Crosby is out. Crosby was known as injury-prone early in his career but has become much more durable in recent years, so this is uncharted territory for this Pittsburgh team. In fact, Crosby has missed just 19 games over the last six seasons, appearing in 96.1 percent of regular-season games over that span. Expect Jared McCann to continue to skate as a top-6 centre while Crosby is out.
Goalie Start
Murray will start Tuesday in New York.
Murray gave up two goals on 31 shots in the Penguins win over the Blackhawks on Saturday. Murray has won two straight while stopping 49 of the 54 shots (.907 SV%) and comes into Tuesday's matchup at 3-1-0 with a 2.93 GAA, .885 SV% and one shutout on the road. On the other side, the Rangers are 4-4-2 while scoring 3.70 goals per game on home ice.
Crosby (lower-body) will not travel on the Penguins two-game road trip.
Crosby suffered a lower-body injury vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday and will not play Tuesday in New York and will likely miss Friday's game in New Jersey as well. Jared McCann moved up between Jake Guentzel and Alex Galchenyuk in Monday's practice, so look for him to skate there against the Rangers.
Crosby (lower-body) missed Monday's practice; questionable to play Tuesday.
Crosby was forced to leave Saturday's game vs. the Blackhawks with a lower-body injury and it seems as if he could miss Tuesday's game in New York. The Penguins have yet to release any information on Crosby's status but look for Jared McCann to skate in Crosby's spot if he can't play.
Goalie Start
Murray will start Saturday vs. the Blackhawks.
Murray allowed three goals on 23 shots in the Penguins win over the Islanders on Thursday. The win snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Murray, who is now 8-3-1 with a 2.40 GAA and .914 SV% on the season. The 25-year-old will be taking on a Chicago team that has just one win on the road this season, going 1-4-1 while scoring just 1.83 goals per game this season.
Source: Matt Vensel 11/9/19, 5:06 pm EST
Goalie Start
Murray is expected to start Saturday vs. the Blackhawks.
Murray allowed three goals on 23 shots in the Penguins win over the Islanders on Thursday. The win snapped a brief two-game losing skid for Murray, who is now 8-3-1 with a 2.40 GAA and .914 SV% on the season. The 25-year-old will be taking on a Chicago team that has just one win on the road this season, going 1-4-1 while scoring just 1.83 goals per game this season.
Source: Mike DeFabo 11/9/19, 4:04 pm EST
Letang is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Letang missed Thursday's game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury that he suffered late in Monday's game in Boston. Letang will miss at least a couple of weeks, which has become a trend throughout his career. Letang missed 17 games in 2018-19 and has missed 20.7 percent of the games over the last five seasons.
Source: @penguins 11/8/19, 1:49 pm EST
Letang (lower-body) will not play on Thursday; questionable for Saturday.
Letang was forced to exit Monday's game in Boston with a lower-body issue and will not play against the Islanders on Thursday. With Letang out, John Marino will move up to play on the top-pair with Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz will man the top power-play unit.
Goalie Start
Murray will start Thursday against the Islanders.
Murray was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the Penguins loss in Boston on Monday. Everyone is struggling against the Bruins right now, so Murray owners shouldn't worry about his latest outing. In his previous three road outings, Murray stopped 72 of the 79 shots (.911 SV%) and will try to snap the Islanders' winning streak on Thursday. The Isles have won 10 in a row while averaging 3.50 goals per game.