Following the Penguins’ most promising start, the ol’ injury bug is biting. Hard. In rapid succession, goalie Tristan Jarry, defenseman Caleb Jones and forwards Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari have succumbed to injury and been placed on IR.
The overall prognosis isn’t good. Brazeau, initially considered day-to-day, is expected to miss a month a with an upper-body injury. Acciari (upper body) and Jarry (lower body), three weeks. Based on original estimates, Rakell and Jones may not return until around the holidays at the earliest.
It looks as though all that depth Kyle Dubas accumulated, especially up front, may come in handy after all. Too, misfortune for some creates opportunities for others. Most notably fringe forwards Danton Heinen and Philip Tomasino. Perhaps all-but-forgotten Kevin Hayes as well. Also defenseman Ryan Graves, banished to the minors following two hugely disappointing seasons.
Tommy Novak, who’s impressed without putting up numbers, will get steady work in Brazeau’s stead alongside red-hot Evgeni Malkin. He certainly has the skill and speed to produce.
The situation is also presenting a real chance for the kids to shine. Ben Kindel, IMHO superb as a third-line center, will shift to wing and slot next to Sidney Crosby on the top unit. I’m especially excited to see Sid and “the Kid” skate together. There are so many similarities in their respective games, including vision, creativity and a knack for making short, crisp passes in traffic or on the rush. The ability to finish, too.
Like the sugar plum fairies of The Nutcracker fame, I have dreams of a lethal combo dancing in my head.
I’m also most curious to see how wunderkind goalie Sergei Murashov performs. Based on his record-setting rookie season in 2024-25 and glowing Goalie of the Month performance in October, some folks are touting the 21-year-old netminder as a ready-made savior.
I, for one, urge caution. As good as the AHL is, it falls well short of the NHL in terms of quality and sheer speed. Plays develop so much quicker at the big-league level. Just ask Ville Koivunen. Expected to blossom, he’s managed just one assist through seven fairly nondescript games with the Pens. This after lighting up the AHL to the tune of four goals and 11 points in six games.
For a more apples-to-apples comparison, potential future tandem-mate Joel Blomqvist (still on IR) earned AHL all-star honors in ‘23-24, yet was shredded in his first NHL go-around (.885 save percentage). Arturs Silovs has posted terrific numbers in the minors, yet is still trying to establish himself as a bona fide NHL netminder.
Even future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury didn’t taste immediate success behind an admittedly awful Pens squad.
Bottom line, we may need to temper our soaring expectations a bit.
Still, like everyone else, I have high hopes for Murashov. It’ll be interesting to see just how ready he is.
