Mike Sullivan Provides Crucial Injury Updates on Key Penguins Players

While a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth appears out of the question for the Pittsburgh Penguins, they aren't eliminated yet as they face a must-win matchup with the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Unfortunately, Mike Sullivan has revealed some bad injury news ahead of the game, noting that veteran forward Evgeni Malkin will miss the game with an upper-body injury as he is still considered day-to-day.

In 2024/25, the veteran has still produced at a very high level, tallying 15 goals and 46 points in 62 games played, and while he's not playing at the MVP level we've seen throughout his career, it's still a huge loss to have him out of the lineup.

In positive injury news, defenseman Ryan Shea has finally recovered from an upper-body injury of his own, as Sullivan revealed that he will officially slot back into the lineup for the first time after missing the Penguins last seven games.

This is a major boost for a Penguins blue line that has been playing some very new faces in recent times, and with a talented forward group on the opposing side on Thursday, they'll need him to find the form he had before injury.

The 28-year old tallied 2 goals and 5 points in 30 games played, but his ability on the defensive end is what elevated him to the top pairing on the left side, with his presence in the lineup clearly missed.

We will wait and see whether or not the Penguins can pull off a miracle in 2024/25 as they've found solid momentum in recent times, but with some good and bad injury news, their route to the post-season became tougher than it already was.