Man, life comes at you fast in the NHL.
A week ago, the Penguins were widely reported to be shopping Ian Cole, though it doesn’t look like that deal is going to go down soon.
Now, Justin Schultz, Cole’s usual defense partner, left Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Rangers with an apparent left leg or ankle injury late in the first period. After making a brief return in the second, he was done for the evening. Afterward, Mike Sullivan said Schultz had a "lower-body injury" and that he will be evaluated further Wednesday.
The injury occurred at 17:43 of the first period on a sequence that saw Cole penalized for tripping, and it resulted in a four-skater pileup in the Penguins' left circle:
As all four pursued the puck, the Rangers' Kevin Hayes knocked Schultz back into teammate Rick Nash, at which point New York's 6-foot-4, 211-pound power forward appeared to roll up Schultz's left leg and bend the ankle awkwardly.
Schultz limped off the ice and walked back to the dressing room under his own power. He played three shifts in the second period before being shut down for the night.
Chad Ruhwedel, another right-handed defenseman who was a healthy scratch Tuesday, would be the obvious replacement if Schultz is unable to play Thursday night against the visiting Islanders.
The Penguins have been down this road before, of course, with injuries to their defense corps. This past summer, they won a Stanley Cup without the services of Kris Letang, and they’ve already played six games this season without Schultz, who was sidelined in late October with a concussion.
“Over the past couple years, we’ve been so good at filling in, not necessarily doing more, but just picking up the slack,” Cole told me Tuesday night. “Maybe a couple more minutes here or there, but really strengthening your game. And over the last few years, we’ve done a good job. I don’t know what the deal is with (Schultz), but we’re certainly have going to have to do that again if he’s out.”
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY