Penguins lose veteran to injured reserve after week-to-week diagnosis
The Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a rough start to the 2024 season . With Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin locked in for the foreseeable future, this core will be hard to move on from. Their depth has been poor this year, leading their 6-8-2 record which is better than only the Blue Jackets and Flyers in the Metropolitan Division. Per ESPN, Penguins forward Kevin Hayes is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
"The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Kevin Hayes on injured reserve Monday with an upper-body injury," ESPN reported "The move is retroactive to his last appearance on Nov. 5, meaning he could return Wednesday against Detroit. Coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Sunday, however, that Hayes is considered week-to-week."
Hayes was traded to the Penguins after one year with the St Louis Blues. The forward is only 31 but has struggled to stay healthy and score in recent years. While the season is still young, he only has three goals in 14 games, adding one assist.
The Penguins continue to have poor goaltending, an issue that has plagued them in recent years. Tristan Jarry spent time in the AHL this year as they have not kept teams off the board. Having strong depth scoring is key when your goalies are poor. With no Hayes, that will be even harder.
Penguins must turn this season around quickly
The National Hockey League standings make it very difficult for a team to mount a comeback. When points are awarded for losing games in overtime, a team cannot go on a true losing streak. With the Rangers, Capitals, and Islanders all ahead of them in the standings, it will be difficult to make up ground in their division.
The depth scoring can come from places beyond Kevin Hayes. They signed Anthony Beauvillier to a one-year contract and he has only scored three goals. Jesse Puljujärvi has one goal, Cody Glass has none, and Michael Bunting has only two. These are all players who need to step up for the Penguins to make the playoffs.
