Penguins’ Brian Boyle laves Game 6 after 2 shifts because of lower-body injury

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brian Boyle suffered a lower-body injury early during Friday’s playoff game, taking only two shifts in Game 6 of the first-round series against the New York Rangers.

After the game — a 5-3 loss that forced a Game 7 — coach Mike Sullivan said Boyle was being evaluated.

“It’s just hard because it’s one less penalty killer, and he’s a good one for us,” Sullivan said. “He makes good reads, he’s a big body, he’s a good shot-blocker. There’s a lot of experience there. We obviously had to adjust. But we’ve got enough people that are part of the penalty kill that we can add to the group.”

The 37-year-old Boyle has filled a fourth-line role for the Penguins most of this season after making the team off a camp tryout contract. The 13-year veteran did not play in the NHL during the 2021 season.

Boyle’s absence came a game after the Penguins played the final 26 minutes of Game 5 without No. 1 center Sidney Crosby because of a potential head injury.

“You go down to 11 forwards again, these games are hard,” Sullivan said. “They’re physical. It’s emotional. There’s a lot of investment in these types of games, and when you go to 11 forwards that early in a game, it places a physical burden on the rest of the group. So that was unfortunate, but we’ve got to find a way.”

Rickard Rakell has not played since Game 1 because of an upper-body injury, but he has been skating with the team so him being cleared to return to game action appears to be close. Crosby’s status for Game 7 is unknown.

The only healthy scratch among forwards Friday was Radim Zohorna, who was recalled from the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday.

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