Penguins confirm terrible news for Rickard Rakell.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have just been dealt a major blow.

There was a ton of concern surrounding forward Rickard Rakell on Saturday night after he left the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets after taking a hard shot off the back of his hand, and unfortunately we now know those concerns were indeed well founded.

On Sunday, the Penguins officially announced that Rakell was forced to undergo surgery to repair his damaged left hand, with the procedure having already been completed, and that he will unfortunately miss significant time as a result. The Penguins have placed the timeline for Rakell's recovery in the range of six to eight weeks, a significant portion of the regular season.

It's news that comes at a terrible time for a Penguins team that has been vastly overachieving in terms of expectations this season, with a record of 6-2-1 from a team that most expected to land somewhere near or at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. Rakell himself has played no small part in that with 3 goals and 5 assists to his name already this season, or 8 points in just 9 games.

The Penguins will be hard pressed to keep the momentum going with one of their top forwards out of the lineup, but the Penguins have called up young forward Ville Koivunen in response to today's announcement. Koivunen is off to a hot start in the American Hockey League this season with 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in just 6 games, and the Penguins are no doubt hoping that he will be able to help fill the void left in Rakell's absence.