When Jason Zucker caught a skate and skidded into the boards in the third period of Tuesday' 3-2 win in Washington it did not look good – and it's not.
"We sent Zuck back to Pittsburgh to be evaluated," coach Mike Sullivan said after Wednesday's workout, "we don't have information other than that." Sullivan is hoping to get good news but it's safe to assume that Zucker won't be back any time soon.
This especially stings because the Pens have rounded into form, winning three straight games and five of their last six. Zucker's personal stat line hasn't always been that impressive but he has helped stabilize the top two lines and he is considered a valuable veteran presence in the locker room.
"He's a tough kid, he's an upbeat person," Sullivan said.
"Obviously, he's frustrated by the injury but Zuck is a real resilient guy.
He's a good pro and regardless of what news we get we know he's going to work his tail off to get back as soon as he can."
Defenseman Cody Ceci echoed his coach, "We're definitely going to miss him in the line-up for a little bit."
Zach Aston-Reese played well after replacing Zucker Tuesday night and skated with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust again at Wednesday's practice. "Playing with Malkin is always a little bit different," Aston-Reese explained, "he's such a skilled player and makes a lot of things happen. So instead of dumping the puck in, you just try to make a play; he's usually flying through the neutral zone or supporting on the wall.
"I've played with G before and playing with Rusty it's just a matter of finding good scoring areas and quiet areas on the ice and getting open for those guys."
The trickle-down Tuesday saw Sam Lafferty taking Aston-Reese's spot with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev and he also seemed to fit in well.
"That's what we went with the other night," Sullivan said, "and that's certainly an option. We have other options as well so we'll see what we get as far as our injury status looks like and we'll make game-time decisions on certain guys."
Since potential replacement Jared McCann still wasn't cleared for contact Wednesday, it's unlikely that he will be in the line-up Thursday night in DC. Look for those combinations, along with a fourth line of Mark Jankowski, Colton Sceviour and Drew O'Conner.
Sullivan says forward Evan Rodrigues and defenseman Brian Dumoulin continue to skate with conditioning coach Ty Hennes in Cranberry.
