Penguins forward Josh Archibald sidelined by injury
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Josh Archibald was absent from Monday’s practice session in Cranberry because of an undisclosed injury.
His status for Tuesday’s home game against the New York Rangers is not certain. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan indicated Archibald was undergoing evaluation following practice.
Typically deployed on the fourth line and the penalty kill, Archibald appeared to be laboring with some sort of ailment during the late stages of a 3-2 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Archibald did not record a shift for the final 5 minutes, 32 seconds of regulation.
In 30 games this season, Archibald has six points (four goals, two assists) while averaging 10:15 of ice time, the second-lowest figure on the active NHL roster. Despite that limited deployment, Archibald leads the Penguins in penalties drawn (14) and hits (109).
Zucker returns (to practice)
A somewhat surprising presence at practice was forward Jason Zucker, who skated in a full capacity with contact but left Monday’s practice session after approximately 20 minutes. He has missed the past two games because of an undisclosed injury, and his status was labeled as “week to week” by Sullivan last week.
On Monday, Sullivan indicated Zucker’s status has not changed but was optimistic over him being able to participate in a practice session.
“Obviously, it’s real encouraging that he’s on the ice,” Sullivan said. “That’s a great first step for us.”
Zucker declined to offer any specifics as to how he was injured.
Typically deployed on the second line and second power-play unit, Zucker has appeared in 27 games this season and has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) while averaging 15:26 of ice time.
Midnight freeze
The NHL’s roster freeze for Christmas begins at 11:59 p.m. on Monday and lasts until Dec. 28, 12:01 a.m.
This means teams teams are limited with roster maneuvers, though there are exceptions.
Trades and waivers are not permitted. Assignments to a minor-league affiliate are permissible provided the player was recalled after Dec. 11 or another player was activated from injured reserve. Additionally, recalls from a minor-league affiliate are permitted should a need arise and teams are allowed to exceed the 23-man roster limit.
The NHL’s salary cap ceiling of $82.5 million remains in effect.
Lined up
The Penguins’ lines and pairings in practice were:
59 Jake Guentzel - 87 Sidney Crosby - 67 Rickard Rakell
43 Danton Heinen - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 17 Bryan Rust
23 Brock McGinn - 77 Jeff Carter - 42 Kasperi Kapanen
25 Ryan Poehling - 53 Teddy Blueger - 10 Drew O’Connor/16 Jason Zucker
28 Marcus Pettersson - 58 Kris Letang
8 Brian Dumoulin - 44 Jan Rutta
73 P.O Joseph - 2 Chad Ruhwedel
Defenseman Mark Friedman skated as a reserve.
The top power-play unit included Crosby, Guentzel, Letang, Malkin and Rakell. The second power-play unit involved Carter, Heinen, Joseph, Kapanen and Rust.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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