Losing to the Vancouver Canucks in overtime was not the only setback that was suffered by the Pittsburgh Penguins last night at PPG Paints Arena.
Veteran forward Reilly Smith, who is playing in his first season with the Penguins after having won the Stanley Cup as an "original misfit" of the Vegas Golden Knights, won't be playing any time soon. After taking a hit along the boards during the 1st period, Smith was clearly shaken up and would eventually depart for the dressing room and did not return.
He also did not practice today, and according to head coach Mike Sullivan, Smith is going to be considered out "longer term".
“I would categorize him as longer-term with an upper-body injury," Sullivan said.
“Reilly’s not an easy guy to replace at this particular point,” Sullivan said. “I think there's just been some inconsistencies to his game in this first part of the season. We're looking forward to getting him back in the lineup.”
Smith has scored eight goals and 12 assists in the 40 games that he's played in this season. Having mostly played with Evgeni Malkin until recently, Sullivan stated that Smith has had both good and bad games.
“It's been a little bit of a mixed bag. He’s had some strong games in there, and others, not so much,” said Sullivan.
The Penguins are off tonight and will be hitting the road to take on the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
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