Penguins/NHL
Forward Max Talbot remains sidelined with a groin injury and has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the New York Islanders.
It’s been a struggle for Talbot this season who has only appeared in 28 games this season.
Sources told me last week that the Penguins were expected to shut Talbot down until after the Olympic break. The team has yet to confirm as Bylsma indicated after practice that there’s a shot that Talbot could play later this week.
Talbot has been working off the ice with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar as Talbot did not travel with the Penguins to Montreal or Washington.
The Penguins will make a callup for tomorrow’s game.
Meanwhile, the Penguins returned to the ice this morning after having an off-day on Monday.
After going through some flow drills, Pittsburgh spent a good 15 minutes on D-Zone work.
During line rushes today, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were on separate lines. There are indications the two will remain split up for tomorrow’s game, putting Nick Johnson back in the mix as a potential callup, although Mark Letestu remains the most likely candidate.
A source with the team told me a decision on who will be called up has yet to be made by the coaching staff and management.
Here were Today’s Lines
1st Line: Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin
2nd Line: Fedotenko-Malkin-Dupuis
3rd Line: Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
4th Line: Rupp-Adams
D-Pairings
The team was mixing pairs today with Mark Eaton and Jay McKee being paired today for a few line rushes.
It is To-be-determined on what direction Bylsma will go tomorrow but the team is exploring different options.
more to come
