Rickard Rakell’s rotten season isn’t getting any better.
The Pittsburgh Penguins winger will be out “longer term” because of an undisclosed injury.
His ailment was one of several maladies coach Mike Sullivan cataloged Tuesday after practice at PPG Paints Arena.
In addition to Rakell, defenseman Chad Ruhwedel will be sidelined on a “week-to-week” basis because of an undisclosed ailment, and forward Bryan Rust is being evaluated for an unspecified injury.
Rakell was designated to long-term injured reserve, and Ruhwedel was placed on regular injured reserve.
Players on long-term injured reserve must miss 10 games and 24 days on the NHL calendar. For Rakell, that means the soonest he can rejoin the NHL roster for a game is a Dec. 16 road contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rust took the ice briefly before the team’s practice but left before the workout began.
Additionally, defenseman P.O Joseph, sidelined for the past six games, remains status quo with an undisclosed injury. No time frame for his recovery has been offered. Joseph is designated to regular injured reserve.
Forward Matt Nieto did not practice Tuesday for what was termed as a “maintenance day.”
That bevy of convalescents was offset a bit by the well-being of forward Vinnie Hinostroza and rookie defenseman John Ludvig. Both were full participants in practice.
Hinostroza missed Sunday’s 3-0 home win against the Vegas Golden Knights because of an undisclosed injury, and Ludvig has been absent the past 11 games because of a concussion.
Ludvig, currently designated to long-term injured reserve, indicated he has been cleared to play. No status on Hinostroza was offered.
For Rakell, this is the latest stumble in a tough season. In 17 games, Rakell has no goals and four assists while averaging 15 minutes, 35 seconds of ice time.
“It’s been a struggle for him to find the back of the net,” Sullivan said Thursday. “But I think he’s getting an awful lot of looks. His game is sound. He’s making plays. He’s around the net a lot. He’s had a fair amount of grade-A looks. The puck hasn’t gone in the net for him. We believe if he continues to stay with it, the puck will go in the net for him. Hopefully, once he gets that first one, the floodgates will open for him.”
Despite those limited offensive contributions, Rakell largely has been arc-welded to the right wing of the second line with Evgeni Malkin at center and Reilly Smith on the left wing.
Should Rust be unavailable for Wednesday’s home game against the New York Rangers, the Penguins could be forced to dress a lineup without their top two right wingers.
While Rakell has struggled, Rust has thrived. In 17 games, he has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) while clocking 18:45 of ice time per contest.
On Tuesday evening, the team recalled forwards Jansen Harkins and Alex Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
The two of them and Hinostroza are candidates to replace Rakell and Rust, if necessary.
“Vinnie Hinostroza is a guy that has offensive instincts to his game,” Sullivan said. “We had Jansen Harkins who has some offense to his game. Alex Nylander is a guy that has played well (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), that has an offensive dimension to his game. There is a handful in the event that we have to go there. These guys will be part of the discussion. There’s a number of other guys also. But those are probably the obvious ones that stand out.”
Hinostroza has split the season between the NHL and AHL rosters. With Pittsburgh, he has played in six games and has three points (one goal, two assists) while primarily inhabiting a role on the fourth line. And as a member of the AHL Penguins, Hinostroza has appeared in five games while scoring four points (two goals, two assists).
Harkins opened the season on the NHL roster. Stationed on the third line primarily, he played in four games and did not record a point. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Harkins has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 11 contests.
Nylander has spent the entire campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, playing in 11 games, and has eight points (five goals, three assists).
As for the injuries on defense, they primarily impact the third pairing. Joseph, Ludvig, Ruhwedel and Ryan Shea have appeared in games this season on the bottom pairing. Presumably, Ludvig and Shea are the leading — i.e. only — candidates to man that station for Wednesday’s game. They briefly played together during a 4-1 home loss Oct. 24 before Ludvig suffered a concussion in that contest.
“Our expectation is that we have enough (players), we have enough to win games,” Sullivan said. “We have depth at all the positions. It’s going to provide opportunity for others to step up there.
“It’s part of the game, and we’ve got to figure out a way to navigate through it and find ways to have success.”
