Pens could get boost on the blue line tonight!

Game-time decision!

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HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Pens could get boost on the blue line tonight!
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These are exciting new for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have had quite a few members of the blue line in the infirmary lately. 

It has been revealed that defenseman Olli Maatta’s status for Friday night’s game against the Nashville Predators will be a game-time decision. 


The defenseman has been out since suffering a shoulder injury Feb. 11 and believes a return ahead of the postseason would greatly help his recovery process. 

“I think it’s a big advantage if you do,” Maatta said to reporters after practice on Friday. “You can do so much on the ice in practice, but when the game starts, it’s a different kind of stress and a different kind of fatigue that comes in. You have to get used to it.”

If Maatta can return tonight, he is expected to bump Zach Trotman from the lineup and play on a defense pair with Brian Dumoulin. The rest of the blue line will remain unchanged with  Jack Johnson with Justin Schultz and Marcus Pettersson with Erik Gudbranson as the two other pairs. 

As for fellow defenseman Kris Letang, he skated on his own before morning skate on Friday. It was the first time he was on the ice since being scratched for Monday’s game against the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury.

Evgeni Malkin (upper body) and Chad Ruhwedel (upper body) also skated Friday morning. Zach Aston-Reese (lower body) did not.

Matt Murray is expected to start in net for the Penguins tonight against the Preds. 

Source: Twitter