Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is believed to have suffered a right leg injury during a 5-1 road preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
Per the team’s radio broadcast, Nedeljkovic was hobbled after a goalmouth scramble and left the contest at 13 minutes, 4 seconds of the first period. He was replaced by prospect Joel Blomqvist. There was no immediate word on Nedeljkovic’s status.
Before leaving, Nedeljkovic stopped both shots he faced in 13:04 of ice time. He is projected to continue as the team’s primary backup to starter Tristan Jarry this upcoming regular season.
Blomqvist denied 20 of 21 shots in 46:30 of ice time, improving his record 1-1-0.
Penguins forward Drew O’Connor’s first goal of the preseason came on a power-play sequence 17:35 into regulation to open the scoring.
That was supplemented by Penguins forward Lars Eller scoring his first goal during a short-handed scenario at 4:54 of the second period.
Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond got his team on the scoreboard with his second goal during a power-play sequence at 9:31 of the second.
Penguins forward Noel Acciari scored his first two goals of the preseason at 0:41 and 10:32 of the third period.
An empty-net goal by Penguins forward Vasily Ponomarev, his first of the preseason, capped the scoring at 18:11 of the final frame.
The Penguins host the Red Wings in a home preseason game on Tuesday.
