Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel plays after briefly being placed in covid-19 protocols
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel was in the lineup for Tuesday’s home game against the rival Washington Capitals at PPG Paints Arena. He opened the contest on the right side of the team’s third pairing with regular partner Mike Matheson.
Earlier in the day, coach Mike Sullivan indicated Ruhwedel was placed into the NHL’s protocols for covid-19 and ruled him out for the contest. Following the game, Sullivan declined to offer specifics as to how Ruhwedel’s day unfolded and simply said the defenseman had tested out of the protocols before the game.
Previously, Ruhwedel entered the protocols in mid-November and missed three games because of the virus.
Ruhwedel, a right-hand shot, had played in 42 games this season and recorded four assists while clocking an average of 15 minutes, 26 seconds of ice time.
With Ruhwedel present, the Penguins played their 33rd consecutive game with their top-six defensemen in the lineup.
The sextet of Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Matheson, John Marino, Marcus Pettersson and Ruhwedel have been intact since Nov. 14.
Defenseman Mark Friedman, also right-handed, was scratched once again. He has been a healthy scratch for 32 of the previous 33 contests.
Friedman’s most recent game was a 3-2 road loss to the Dallas Stars on Jan. 8 when roster limitations forced the Penguins to dress an irregular lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Chaput recalled from taxi squad
Forward Michael Chaput was recalled from the taxi squad in advance of Tuesday’s game.
Chaput was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) and assigned to the taxi squad Sunday. He has yet to appear in any NHL games this season. In 22 AHL games, the left-handed Chaput (6-foot-2, 199 pounds) has nine points (two goals, seven assists).
Signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $750,000, the league minimum, Chaput, 29, previously spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL. His last action at the NHL level came in the form of 13 games and no points with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
Chaput was a healthy scratch Tuesday. Forward Danton Heinen, sidelined with an undisclosed injury, also was scratched.
Heinen was injured during warmups prior to Sunday’s 4-3 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
In 40 games this season, Heinen has scored 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) while clocking an average of 13:18 of ice time.
Riikola recalled to the taxi squad
The Penguins recalled defenseman Juuso Riikola from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and assigned him to the taxi squad.
The left-hander has appeared in five NHL games this season and recorded one assist while averaging 13:23 of ice time. In 17 AHL games, he has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists).
Riikola’s stay on the taxi squad is bound to be brief.
After using taxi squads throughout the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 regular season, the NHL reinstituted them on a temporary basis in December to help teams deal with a rise of players testing positive for covid-19. The league is scheduled to eliminate them by the end of the week in advance of the All-Star Game event.
Forward Kasper Bjorkqvist and defenseman P.O Joseph also are on the Penguins’ taxi squad.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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