Bjugstad out due to new injury
NEWARK, N.J. — Just three games after returning from a prolonged injury absence, Nick Bjugstad once again will be sidelined.
The 6-foot-6 forward will be out week to week with a lower-body injury, coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday. This is a new injury that is not related to the core-muscle surgery that forced Bjugstad to miss about 16 weeks, from Nov. 15 to March 5. In total, Bjugstad has played 13 games this season, tallying one goal and one assist.
His injury issues began almost at the same time the season did. A core-muscle injury flared up, forcing him to go on injured reserve Oct. 8. He returned briefly. But soon it became obvious he would need surgery, beginning a long, non-linear rehab process that endured some setbacks.
In his first game back, Bjugstad centered the third line and made an immediate impact when he collided with Buffalo goaltender Jonas Johansson to help Patric Hornqvist score. But after playing in back-to-back games this weekend, Bjugstad stayed home in Pittsburgh while the team traveled to New Jersey to begin a three-game road trip.
“You love going to battle with your teammates,” Bjugstad said in the days before he returned from the coremuscle surgery.
“That’s been gone from me for a long time. You realize how fortunate you are when you are on the ice. It makes you very grateful to have good health and be out there playing.”
In Bjugstad’s absence, the Penguins shuffled their bottom-six at the morning skate Tuesday. Jared McCann moved back to center, playing between recent acquisition Evan Rodrigues on the left wing and Hornqvist on the right wing. The injury also opened the door for Sam Lafferty, a healthy scratch Sunday against Carolina. He moved onto the fourth line, playing alongside Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev.
Virus concerns
Tuesday morning at Prudential Center, a makeshift interview area was assembled in the hall outside the visitors’ locker room.
A Penguins backdrop was taped to a wall. But the star of the show was the rope, like the one you’d see a bouncer use at a nightclub, creating a divide between players and reporters.
As concerns over COVID19, the new coronavirus, continue to grow, the NHL,
NBA, MLB and MLS released a joint statement Monday announcing that locker rooms would be temporarily closed.
Interviews will be conducted in more formal news conference settings, like this one.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the virus can be passed between people who are within about 6 feet of each other. As reporters dangled their audio recorders and microphones over the rope, maybe a foot from Sidney Crosby, the Penguins captain addressed this new reality.
“Everyone is just trying to do the right thing to make sure everyone is as safe as possible,” Crosby said on the same day the first death from the virus was reported in New Jersey.”
Free agent signs
The Penguins signed Drew O’Connor, a Dartmouth standout who was among the top undrafted college free agents up for grabs this spring.
His two-year, entry-level deal starts during the 2020-21 season. O’Connor will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout contract for the rest of this season.
“Drew is a powerful skater with good hands, which helped him have a very good year at Dartmouth,” general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. “We are very happy Drew has joined the Penguins as we feel he can help our NHL club sooner rather than later.”
Last week, the sophomore forward was named the Ivy League co-player of the year for 2019-20 and was unanimously selected to the league’s first team. O’Connor led Dartmouth with 21 goals and 33 points in 31 games.
The New Jersey native, now 21, was perhaps overlooked in the NHL draft because he was reportedly only 5 feet 8 at 18. O’Connor is now listed at 6-3, 200 pounds, blossoming into an interesting prospect with skill and size.
The Penguins under Rutherford have been aggressive targeting college free agents as a way to pump talent into a prospect pool that is drained annually as they trade draft picks and some of their better prospects in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Look no further than last month’s trade for Jason Zucker.
Among the college free agents the team has signed in recent years are Conor Sheary, Carter Rowney, Zach Aston-Reese, Casey DeSmith and Jake Lucchini.