Pens Points: Injury Bug Strikes

There will be a new look to the Penguins when they take on the Winnipeg Jets this evening at PPG Paints Arena. With Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad out for the foreseeable future, the Penguins will need to implement some early season line shuffling and we will see the results of those decisions for the first time this evening. [Game Preview]

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

Catch up on the latest news before puck drop with Pens Points...

After practice on Monday, the Penguins received the worst possible injury news in regards to Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad. Mike Sullivan announced that both centers will be out “longer term” with lower body injuries. [Pensburgh]

A few hours after Mike Sullivan announced the injury time frames, we learned more about the severity of Malkin’s ailment. According to a report, Malkin suffered a soft tissue injury to his leg and is expected to miss at least one month. [Pensburgh]

Jared McCann was already expected to play a major role in the Penguins success this season, but now with Malkin and Bjugstad on the shelf for an extended period, McCann’s play will become an even bigger factor in an expanded role. [Pensburgh]

Knowing he will now be thrust into the spotlight and counted on to produce with players going down, McCann is ready to step up and help the Penguins in anyway he can while Malkin and Bjugstad recover. [Penguins]

With Malkin and Bjugstad both likely heading to injured reserve given the severity of their respective injuries, some call ups will need to be made to fill roster spots. Adam Johnson, Sam Lafferty, and Joseph Blandisi are a few names to watch out for. [Pensburgh]

When the appropriate roster moves were announced on Monday evening, Lafferty was one of the players getting the call along with his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton teammate Andrew Agozzino. [Pensburgh]

There will be a lot of questions surrounding the Penguins after Monday’s injury news and rightfully so. Right now, the biggest answer the Penguins will need to provide is how they move forward without two crucial players. [Hockey News]

Another area where injuries are affecting the Penguins is at the right wing position. With Bryan Rust still recovering from a preseason injury, the team is still trying to figure out who to play where on the right side. [Trib Live]

With the Jets in town for their meeting with the Penguins on Tuesday, it’s somewhat of a reunion for Brandon Tanev who played in Winnipeg before coming over to Pittsburgh as a free agent in July. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

With the return of hockey also comes the return of the NHL “Three Stars of the Week” awards. Our first Stars of the Week of the new season are Mika Zibanejad, Anthony Mantha, and Auston Matthews. [NHL]

Evgeny Kuznetsov is expected to make his season debut for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday when they face the Dallas Stars. Kuznetsov was suspended for the first three games of the season after testing positive for cocaine in the offseason. [NHL]

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green underwent a litany of ailments last season that kept him sidelined for a large portion of the season. Now healthy, Green is hoping to help the Red Wings make a playoff push. [ESPN]