Penguins recall P.O Joseph from WBS

Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph has been recalled from the American Hockey League.

The team announced the news of the recall on Wednesday morning.

The news of the recall comes following a 6-2 road win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Joseph being recalled brings the Penguins back to having left-handed defenseman and could signify that fellow defenseman Mike Matheson could be out of the lineup for longer than anticipated.

Matheson has been dealing with a nagging injury. He did not play in Tuesday’s game against the Lightning. He attempted to practice on Tuesday, but left practice early. Matheson was missing from practice on today, with an injury that the Pens called “day to day” earlier in the week.

It’s unclear whether P.O Joseph will play in Thursday’s game against the Panthers, but he will give the option of using three left-handed defenders to go with Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Petterson. The Pens utilized four right-handers in the 6-2 win against Tampa last night. If Joseph plays tomorrow against Florida, one of Mark Friedman or Chad Ruhwedel would figure to be a healthy scratch.

Last season, Joseph scored one goal and contributed with five assists in 16 games with the team after making his NHL debut in January.

The Penguins acquired Joseph from the Arizona in 2019 in the trade that sent Phil Kessel to the Coyotes.