REPORT: Mike Sullivan confirms two players are highly probable to play tonight!

Mike Sullivan confirms two players are highly probable to play tonight!

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan announced today that his team will finally get some reprieve from the barrage of injuries his team has had to endure lately. The coach expects forward Jake Guentzel and defenceman Ron Hainsey to both make their long awaited return to the lineup tonight as the Penguins take on the New York Rangers from Madison Square Garden.

Guentzel has been out of the Pens lineup since taking a brutal open ice hit from Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen just 10 days ago. The hit was blatant interference and earned Ristolainen a 3 game suspension from the league. Guentzel, who did not see the hit coming, appeared to suffer a concussion after taking the wallop, but it looks as though his symptoms have passed and he’s been cleared to play.

As for Hainsey, the veteran was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in advance of this year’s NHL trade deadline, but has only appeared in 10 games for the Pens due to an upper-body injury. 

The return of both Guentzel and Hainsey should help bolster the Penguins and provide them with some depth at both positions heading into this season’s Stanley Cup playoffs.