Penguins forward Brandon Tanev placed on injured reserve

Penguins forward Brandon Tanev was placed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury prior to Wednesday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres.

The designation is retroactive to March 18. That will allow Tanev to be eligible to be activated by Thursday.

Tanev has missed the past two games due to an ailment he suffered during a 3-2 road win against the New Jersey Devils on March 18. Coach Mike Sullivan has termed Tanev’s status has been termed as “day to day.”

Tanev skated Wednesday morning along with fellow injured forward Jason Zucker as well as skating and skills development coach Ty Hennes.

In 30 games this season, Tanev has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists).

To date, forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust are the only members of the Penguins who have yet to miss a game.

Tanev joins forwards Teddy Blueger, Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Mark Friedman on injured reserve. Zucker is on long-term injured reserve.

Note:

• In a corresponding transaction, the Penguins recalled rookie forward Radim Zohorna from the taxi squad. A native of the Czech Republic, the 24-year-old Zohorna has never played in the NHL. Initially recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on March 18, Zohorna (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) is in his first season on this continent.

He has played in 11 AHL games this season and has nine points (three goals, six assists).

• Additionally, the team recalled forwards Justin Almeida and Sam Miletic from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Almeida, 22, has appeared in three AHL games this season and has scored one goal.

The 23-year-old Miletic has played in six games this season and has two points (one goal, one assist).

• The Penguins are scheduled to start goaltender Tristan Jarry. In 22 games this season, he has a 12-8-2 record along with a 2.86 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.

• During his five seasons as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, current Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen established himself as one of that team’s top penalty killers. In 2019-20, Kapanen 1:39 of short-handed ice time per contest and led the Maple Leafs with two short-handed goals.

This season, Kapanen has been used sparingly on the Penguins’ penalty kill, totalling just 2:04 of short-handed ice time in 29 games, equating to an average of only four seconds per contest.

Given the Penguins’ injury woes, particularly as it pertains to leading penalty killing forwards such as Blueger and Tanev, has Sullivan given any serious consideration to using Kapanen in such a capacity?

“We’ve talked a lot about it as a coaching staff,” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to manage minutes a certain way that we can optimize every player on our bench. (Kapanen) missed training camp (due to a work visa issue). He came in under difficult circumstances because he missed training camp so we were playing catch-up with him from a conditioning standpoint and just trying to utilize the bench as best we can. To put them all in positions to be successful is part of that conversation.

“But it is a conversation that we’ve had as a coaching staff. We know that that is an option for us. We haven’t chose to go that route at this point but it doesn’t mean it won’t change moving forward.”

• The Sabres are expected to give former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Dustin Tokarski his first start at the NHL level since Dec. 21, 2015. Tokarski has played one NHL game this season. On Monday, he spelled injured starter Carter Hutton during a 5-3 road loss to the New York Rangers. Tokarski made 33 saves on 37 shots and recorded the loss.

A journeyman, Tokarski has only played in 35 career NHL games during 12 professional seasons. He spent the 2019-20 season on an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 18 AHL games last season, Tokarski had a 9-5-2 record along with a 1.97 goals against average, a .924 save percentage and one shutout.

• Tokarski’s backup is slated to be Michael Houser, a native of Youngstown who grew up in Wexford. The 28-year-old, who played for the former Pittsburgh Hornets youth program, has never played an NHL game and the vast majority of his nine-year professional career came in either the AHL or ECHL levels. Due to injuries at the position, the Sabres signed Houser to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday.

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