- Egor Chinakhov sat out Friday’s loss to Colorado with a lower-body injury
- He got hurt in practice and has no return timeline
- Read below for how Ville Koivunen stepped into the second line
The Penguins are without Egor Chinakhov, and nobody knows for how long.
The winger missed Friday night’s 5-2 loss to the Avalanche with a lower-body injury he picked up in practice, per Pro Hockey Rumors. Pittsburgh has not given a timeline for his return.
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe passed along the update and described what he saw on the ice. Take a look at his post:
Ville Koivunen took Chinakhov’s spot on the second line next to Evgeni Malkin and Tommy Novak. Koivunen set up Malkin’s opening goal and finished with three points and a plus-three through six games.
Koivunen also saw time on the power play. Pittsburgh didn’t score with the man advantage, but the audition was clear.
Elmer Soderblom drew into the lineup as the other change. It was his third game of the season, and he is still looking for the production that gave him 10 points in 20 games after last season’s deadline trade.
Chinakhov was not off to the start he wanted anyway. He scored in the opener and added an assist in Game 2, then went five straight games without a point. That is a quiet stretch for a 25-year-old who put up 36 points in 43 games with Pittsburgh last year, and he was already fighting for second-line minutes.
This is the kind of crunch we flagged when the Penguins had 18 forwards for 13 spots. A longer absence could hand Koivunen the job for good, and Chinakhov would be looking at a third-line role with Andrei Kuzmenko and Benjamin Kindel.
The Penguins are still looking for answers after another loss, even with Sidney Crosby climbing the all-time assists list. They play Vegas on Saturday night, and the lineup card will show whether Chinakhov is available.
