SUNRISE, Fla. – Penguins defenseman John Marino suffered broken bones on the left side of his face according to a source with firsthand knowledge of his status.

The rookie was injured during the late stages of Thursday’s 4-2 road loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

At 15:50 of the third period, Lightning forward Steven Stamkos fired a one-timer which was deflected by the stick of Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese and caromed into Marino’s face.

Marino left the ice with a towel covering his face. Following the game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan indicated team medical staffers felt Marino would be fine.

On Friday, Marino did not participate in practice at the BB&T Center. Sullivan said Marino was witheld from practice to be evaluated for precautionary reasons.

It remains to be seen what amount of time Marino could be sidelined for. He is expected to travel to Pittsburgh for further evaluation before a final decision is made on potential surgery.

Marino was enjoying a fine rookie campaign prior to this injury. In 51 games this season, he has 25 points (five goals, 20 assists), eighth-most among all rookies this season. Additionally, he has logged an average of 20:19 of ice time this season, fourth-most among all rookies.

The Penguins will face the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Notes:

• Forward Bryan Rust was held out of practice for what was termed a “maintenance day.” He missed practice on Monday in Brandon, Fla. under similar circumstances.

The team’s leader with 22 goals, Rust could be seen walking through the visiting team facilities on Friday with slight limp.

• With Marino absent, the Penguins displayed a more typical look of left-handed and right-handed shots on all three pairings in practice.

The top pair of Jack Johnson and Kris Letang remained status quo while Justin Schultz subbed for Marino on the second pair with Marcus Pettersson.

The third pair was composed of Juuso Riikola and Chad Ruhwedel.

For the past three games, Ruhwedel and Schultz, each right-handed shots, have been teamed together. The results have been mixed, at least based on basic numbers.

Schultz has been a minus-5 over that span while Ruhwedel, primarily used on the left side of the duo, is a minus-1. They were each on the ice for the Lightning’s opening goals Thursday.

Meanwhile, the left-handed Riikola has been a healthy scratch during that time.

Why use two right-handed shots on the same pairing when a left-hander is available?

“It’s not the ideal scenario,” Sullivan acknowledged. “It’s not what we’d prefer. But under the circumstances, we think, right now, this is the best six defensemen that we have that are in the lineup. We’re trying to put pairs together that can be successful. Obviously, there’s a right-hand shot that has to play the off side. So we’re trying to make that decision as best we can in the group that we have. But those guys, they play hard, they compete, they keep their game simple. So we think they’ve done a decent job.”

Having been a healthy scratch for 23 of a possible 51 games, including the first 21 games of the season, Ruhwedel isn’t fastidious over which side he lines up on.

“I would say the right-side just is more natural playing on the strong side. But the left side has it’s advantages too. … I’m just playing the position that’s available to me.”

• The Penguins’ lines and pairs during practice were:

Jared McCann — Sidney Crosby — Dominik Simon

Andrew Agozzino — Evgeni Malkin — Patric Hornqvist

Zach Aston-Reese — Teddy Blueger — Brandon Tanev

Alex Galchenyuk — Sam Lafferty — Anthony Angello

Jack Johnson — Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson — Justin Schultz

Juuso Riikola — Chad Ruhwedel

• The top power-play unit included Crosby, Hornqvist, Letang, Malkin and McCann. The second power-play squad was composed of Aston-Reese, Galchenyuk, Pettersson, Schultz and Simon.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)