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Penguins lose a top forward in morning skate to injury, another player questionable with illness
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Rickard Rakell is out tonight for the Pittsburgh Penguins with a lower-body injury, and it hits the top-six right where it hurts.
He left the morning skate early, and the team is calling him day to day. That usually means cautious, not catastrophic.
The frustrating part is how it happened. Josh Yohe said Rakell got hurt in the skate, not in a game.
That is the kind of bad luck that makes a bench tense before puck drop. Chemistry matters, and Rakell has been a steady driver on the wing.
Yohe’s post laid it out plainly, Rakell is out tonight with a lower-body issue and the tag is day to day.
Dan Muse’s update adds more moving pieces. Arturs Silovs gets the start between the pipes, and that is a real bet on the crease.
Silovs has already carried a chunk of work this season, sitting at 10-7-8 with a 2.97 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage.
Rickard Rakell absence tests the Pittsburgh Penguins
Honestly, this is the kind of night Penguins fans dread, because one "day to day" scratch can spiral into a sloppy, disjointed effort.
With Rakell out, someone has to replace his touches on the rush. The Penguins cannot afford passengers in the neutral zone.
Noel Acciari being a game-time decision with illness makes it worse. If he sits, the fourth line and penalty kill take a punch.
And Blake Lizotte being unavailable for personal reasons strips out another reliable, straight-line forward. Dan Muse is suddenly juggling matchups instead of pushing them.
All of it puts more pressure on the blue line to make the first pass clean. If the breakout is messy, the Penguins will spend the night defending.
The simplest path is ugly hockey and a hard forecheck. Survive the first ten minutes, and let the depth find a goal.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Penguins organization adds former Panthers free agent forward on new deal
Penguins organization adds former Panthers free agent forward on new deal
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 5|101 ANSWERS Penguins lose a top forward in morning skate to injury, another player questionable with illness Should the Pittsburgh Penguins sit Rickard Rakell until he’s 100% healthy? | ||
| Yes | 94 | 93.1 % |
| No | 7 | 6.9 % |
| List of polls | ||