Penguins recall Juuso Riikola, Yannick Weber, Emil Larmi from taxi squad
The Penguins’ taxi squad is no more.
With NHL’s rosters expanded for the postseason, the Penguins essentially dissolved their taxi squad.
Defensemen Juuso Riikola, Yannick Weber and goaltender Emil Larmi were recalled to the NHL roster while defenseman Josh Maniscalco was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Riikola and Weber have each appeared in two NHL games this season and have not scored a point.
Larmi has appeared in six AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and has a 1-4-1 record along with a 4.87 goals against average and an .845 save percentage. He opened the 2020-21 season playing for HPK of Finland’s Liiga. In 12 games with HPK, Larmi had a 1-5-6 record along with a 2.61 goals against average and an .895 save percentage.
Before Sunday, Maniscalco, a first-year professional, had played in seven games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with no points.
Additionally, goaltenders Alex D’Orio and Maxime Lagace had their statuses changed from emergency recalls to regular recalls.
In the Penguins’ regular season finale on Saturday, Lagace made 29 saves in a 1-0 home win against the Buffalo Sabres to earn his first career shutout.
The Penguins had a scheduled day off on Sunday.
They will face either the Boston Bruins or the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. Seedings for those teams — as well as a postseason schedule — have yet to be determined.
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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