Penguins forward Danton Heinen a late scratch against Kings
Penguins forward Danton Heinen was a late scratch for Sunday’s 4-3 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.
After the game, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan indicated Heinen suffered an undisclosed injury during warmups. He was scheduled to open the contest on the right wing of the third line. There was no specificity offered as to Heinen’s status other than he was still being evaluated after the game.
In 40 games this season, Heinen has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists).
Radim Zohorna steps in
Rookie forward Radim Zohorna stepped into the lineup in place of Heinen. Primarily working on the right wing of the third line with Jeff Carter at center and Zach Aston-Reese on the left wing, Zohorna logged a career-best 14 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time on 22 shifts and recorded three shot attempts (all misses). He also got a bit of work with the second power-play unit, clocking 46 seconds of ice time.
Zohorna participated in warmups but did not skate in line rushes. He found out he would be playing Sunday without much time to spare before the opening faceoff.
“It was right after the warmup,” said Zohorna, who was credited with seven shots. “I took off my gear, and I went to the gym. The equipment guys told me I’m going back (on the ice). I always have to be ready for this situation. I tried to play my best.”
Sullivan seemed pretty satisfied in what Zohorna offered.
“I thought (Zohorna) played real well,” Sullivan said. “He brought us some energy. He made some plays. He used his big frame to protect pucks. He was good on both sides of the puck.”
It was Zohorna’s first game in just over two weeks. He last played during a 2-1 overtime road win against the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 15.
In five games this season, Zohorna has two points (one goal, one assist) while averaging 12:09 of ice time per contest.
Three recalled to the taxi squad
The Penguins recalled forwards Kasper Bjorkqvist and Michael Chaput and defenseman P.O Joseph from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) and assigned them to their taxi squad before Sunday’s game.
Bjorkqvist made his NHL debut earlier this season and has appeared in six NHL games and scored one goal while averaging 8:22 of ice time. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has played in 24 games and scored five points (four goals, one assist).
Chaput has yet to play in an NHL game this season. Signed to a one-year, two-way contract this past offseason, Chaput has played in 22 AHL games and scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) this season. He last played NHL games with the Arizona Coyotes last season when he played in 13 games and did not score a point while averaging 9:24 of ice time per contest.
Joseph has played in four NHL games this season and has not scored a point while clocking an average of 18:14 per contest. Appearing in 29 AHL games this season, Joseph leads all Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defensemen in scoring with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).
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.
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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