Bonino out week to week with a lacerated kidney

Anything but a stranger to playing through pain, Nick Bonino will have to take a seat for the foreseeable future.

Ahead of the Penguins’ Saturday matinee with the Philadelphia Flyers, coach Mike Sullivan informed reporters that the team’s recently reacquired center is out week-to-week with a lacerated kidney. Bonino, who as Penguins fans remember played through a broken tibia in his left leg during the second game of the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals, was injured during the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.

“He was complaining after the game and we sent him to the hospital just to get things checked out,” Sullivan said. “We found out he had a lacerated kidney, so he had a procedure done. Right now, he’s week-to-week.”

To the best of Sullivan’s knowledge, Bonino was scheduled to be released from the hospital sometime on Saturday. The coach did not share with reporters who will fill Bonino’s void but listed Mikael Granlund, Drew O’Connor and Jeff Carter as viable options.

Ryan Poehling remains sidelined with an upperbody injury and “isn’t ready yet”, per Sullivan, but would be in that discussion alongside the aforementioned trio when he’s healthy.

In Pittsburgh’s loss to the Islanders, Granlund skated on the third line at center while Carter played to his side at right wing. In Granlund’s first two games since being acquired via the Nashville Predators, he skated to Carter’s right while the latter manned the middle.

Sullivan could drop either Carter or Granlund to fourth-line center, but both players are at the latter stages of their respective careers and have long been better known for their offensive skills rather than their defensive.

O’Connor was the Penguins’ fourth-line center for their 5-4 overtime victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Mar. 2, but he’s primarily skated on the wing this season, which is also where Sullivan prefers to have him. O’Connor, who has played in a career-high 30 games this season, also has five goals and three assists to his name, both personal bests in the NHL.

Jonathan Gruden of the AHL’s Wilkes- Barre/ Scranton Penguins is another option, as he centered the fourth unit for a trio of games toward the end of January. But Gruden has been sidelined for a good chunk of time, last playing for the Baby Penguins on Feb. 18.