Penguins’ Michael Bunting won’t play versus Lightning on Sunday following car accident

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without left winger Michael Bunting when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday after the forward was involved in a car accident prior to puck drop.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Bunting is okay following the accident, but will be held out of the lineup Sunday.

On the season, Bunting has made 43 appearances with the Penguins in which he has collected 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points to sit sixth in team scoring. The 29-year-old Scarborough, Ont., native is in his second season with the Penguins, part of a three-year pact that carries a $4.5-million annual average value, per PuckPedia.

Originally selected in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft by the former Arizona Coyotes, Bunting has seen 311 career contests counting stops with the Coyotes, his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Penguins in which he has amassed 89 goals and 117 assists for 206 points alongside 296 penalty minutes.

With the Maple Leafs in 2021-22, Bunting reached a career high of 63 points counting 23 goals and 40 assists coming in 79 games. Bunting scored 55 points split across 81 games with the Hurricanes and Penguins a year ago. In joining the Penguins, Bunting reunited with general manager Kyle Dubas, who was at the helm of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds in 2013-14 when Bunting wrapped up his first junior season with 42 points in 48 games.

Entering Sunday’s battle with the Lightning, the Penguins sit 18-18-8 on the season and two points back of the Metropolitan Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins are 3-4-3 in their past 10 outings, punctuated by Saturday’s 5-0 home ice loss to the Ottawa Senators.