Penguins notebook: Marcus Pettersson hopes to be done with frustrating late-season injury

Of all the injuries absorbed by the Pittsburgh Penguins throughout the course of the season, perhaps none hurt as much as losing defenseman Marcus Pettersson toward the end of March.

The 26-year-old blueliner was among the team’s most dependable skaters before being placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on March 20 because of an undisclosed ailment.

The ramifications of Pettersson’s injury immediately were amplified, given that he went down when the Penguins were also without fellow defensemen Jan Rutta, who missed 10 games between March 17 and April 5, as well as Dmitry Kulikov, whose suspected foot injury sidelined him for 14 games shortly after being acquired at the trade deadline from Anaheim.

None of this was lost on Pettersson, who has a goal and 23 assists in 67 games while averaging 18 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time.

“It’s been tough mentally,” Pettersson said. “A lot of the guys on the team have helped me. People around the team, too. It’s never easy being out of the lineup, especially this time of the year. It’s tough to sit on the sidelines.”

In his absence, the Penguins went 6-6-0.

Because of the retroactive dating of Petterson’s placement on LTIR (March 18), the earliest Pettersson could return to action would be Thursday, in the Penguins’ regular-season finale at Columbus.

That game is now confirmed to be the final game the Penguins play this season, with the club having been eliminated from postseason contention, courtesy of the Islanders’ 4-2 win over Montreal Wednesday evening.

Pettersson participated fully in Wednesday’s practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, skating with Jeff Petry on the second defensive pairing while also taking part on the team’s penalty-kill unit.

“I gotta get cleared by the doctors first, and (it’s a) coach’s decision at the end of the day, but I feel good,” Petterson said.

Per coach Mike Sullivan, Pettersson is a game-time decision.

Friedman placed on waivers

The Penguins placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers Wednesday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The move presumably was made to aid in the reactivation of Pettersson, who commands a salary cap hit of $4,025,175. NHL clubs have until 2 p.m. Thursday to claim Friedman. If he clears waivers, he will be sent back to the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Were that to happen, the Penguins would erase his $775,000 cap hit from the books, giving them a total of $4,300,175 in available space, enough to take Pettersson off of LTIR.

Friedman (PIT) on waivers

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 12, 2023

Lineup changes coming?

Sullivan said after practice Wednesday that the result of the Islanders/Canadiens game may well dictate his lineup against the Blue Jackets. With the Islanders’ victory, the Penguins’s 82nd and final game of the season Thursday is meaningless.

Sullivan may thus think twice about playing Pettersson, given the game contains zero stakes.

Bonino practices in full

Forward Nick Bonino, who has not played since March 9 because of a lacerated kidney, practiced with the Penguins in a regular-contact jersey Wednesday.

However, Bonino did not partake in the team’s line rushes or on the penalty kill. Per Sullivan, Bonino has yet to be cleared medically to play Thursday at Columbus and remains on long-term injured reserve.

O’Connor a game-time decision

Sullivan gave forward Drew O’Connor the same game-time designation as Pettersson ahead of Thursday’s game in Columbus.

O’Connor skated on the Penguins’ third line alongside Ryan Poehling and Mikael Granlund Wednesday but has missed the team’s last two games as a result of a crushing hit taken April 6 from Minnesota defenseman Matt Dumba.

“I’m cleared to play,” O’Connor said. “It’s up to the coaches at this point. But yeah, I’m fully cleared.”

Matt Dumba hit on Drew O’Connor last night????

Let the discussion commence
pic.twitter.com/PqyErm0fny

— Everything Hockey (@EHClothing) April 7, 2023

Status quo after defeat

Anyone expecting the Penguins to be despondent and/or sluggish Wednesday afternoon following their crippling loss Tuesday would have been disappointed.

Sullivan had a pre-practice message for the team at center ice before line work, and special teams drills went on per usual.

“I thought we had good energy,” Sullivan said. “I thought the guys were upbeat and were trying to get something out of it. That’s the most important thing — we want to get better.”