Bjugstad will miss his third straight game on Thursday and will miss at least two months after undergoing surgery today. Injuries have devastated the Penguins in the first two months of the season but they’ve continued to win games. Luckily, they’ll get Patric Hornqvist back to replace Bjugstad on Thursday.
Hayton has been a healthy scratch for the last six games but will replace Michael Grabner in the lineup on Thursday. Hayton has one goal and three assists in nine games so far this season.
Kerfoot's injury originally occurred on November 5th vs.the Kings but played through it as long as he could. Kerfoot ultimately elected to undergo surgery and will miss some time. Jason Spezza is expected to replace him as the Maple Leafs' third-line centre and will also see the PP2 time while Kerfoot is sidelined.
Connauton, who has collected three assists in 11 AHL games this season and 76 points (27G / 49A) in 310 career NHL games will replace Mark Barberio on the Colorado blueline on Thursday.
Weber missed Monday's practice and Tuesday's morning skate but head coach Claude Julien still expects him to play vs. the Blue Jackets. This is great news for Montreal because Weber has been scorching hot as of late, scoring five goals with six assists (11 points) in his last 11 games while playing 22:46 ATOI.
Both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nic Dowd are dealing with injuries and questionable for Friday's game, so O'Brien comes up and could make his season debut vs. Buffalo. The 25-year-old centre has just two points (1G / 1A) in 17 career NHL games and has registered three goals in his first nine AHL games this season.
Bjugstad has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury but was back at practice on Friday and will be a game-time decision in Dallas. Bjugstad centred the second line with Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist and skated on the second power-play unit in practice.
Bjugstad has been sidelined since October 5th but will travel on the Penguins upcoming road-trip, which starts Tuesday in Florida. There's no indication whether or not Bjugstad will play on the trip but this is a step in the right direction for the 27-year-old centre.
Connauton did not appear in a game with the Avalanche during his call-up. With Ian Cole back from offseason hip surgery, Connauton was no longer needed as a reserve defenseman. He heads back to the Eagles, where he had no points, two PIMS and a minus-4 rating in two games.
Cole has missed the first four games of the regular season but will replace Mark Barberio in the lineup on Monday. Cole had 15 points (2G / 13A) in 71 games last season.
Hayton sat as a healthy scratch during the first two games of the season, but the No.5 pick in 2018 will play Thursday vs. the Golden Knights. Hayton, who had 66 points (26G / 40A) in 39 OHL games last year, is expected to skate on a line with Christian Dvorak and Nick Schmaltz.
Cole skated on the third pair at Wednesday’s practice and has officially been cleared to play. However, head coach Jared Bednar said they haven’t made a decision on whether or not he will play vs. the Bruins.
Agozzino led the Colorado Eagles (AHL) with 60 points (26G / 34A) in 56 games last season and signed with the Penguins this summer. He was held pointless in his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton debut but has been recalled because both Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad are out for Tuesday’s game. The 28-year-old winger has five points (1G / 4A) in 21 career NHL games.
Crouse missed Monday’s practice with an upper-body injury which makes him questionable heading into Thursday’s game vs. the Golden Knights. With Crouse hurt, Barrett Hayton will likely make his NHL debut this week.
Cole is on injured reserve as he recovers from offseason hip surgery but he is nearing his season debut. Cole was on the ice for Monday’s practice and was cleared for contact. Look for Cole to potentially be inserted into the Avalanche lineup at some point this week.
Both Bjugstad and Evgeni Malkin are expected to miss extended periods of time with lower-body injuries. The Penguins were deep down the middle heading into the season and now will have to rely on players like Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger to centre their middle-6. Bjugstad has missed at least 15 games in three of the last four years.
