For the second time within a week, the Penguins have recalled Alex Nylander on an emergency basis, Ron Hextall announced Friday.
That means, ahead of back-to-back matchups with the Flyers and Rangers here at PPG Paints Arena over the weekend, they would have been without 12 healthy forwards without him. Because it is an emergency recall, it does not count against the three standard recalls they have remaining for the rest of the regular season.
Nylander, 25, debuted with the Penguins on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets in the absence of Bryan Rust and Mikael Granlund. He recorded an assist, had two shots, five shot attempts and dazzling on-ice metrics.
Most importantly, he impressed Mike Sullivan.
"The coaches were really impressed with Alex's game," Sullivan said. "We knew he was a guy that could make plays, he's got good offensive instincts. I think that's the strength of his game. But what really impressed us was his 200-foot game, his game away from the puck, some of the details of defending, his strength along the walls, protecting pucks. He made good decisions with the puck, he wasn't a high-risk player. And that's an important aspect of winning, making sure that you make good decisions when you have the puck so you don't put your team in vulnerable spots.
"I thought he made some decisions coming through the neutral zone with the puck where there wasn't a lot going on, and he was willing to play behind our opponent's defensemen and try to create offense different ways. He didn't force things that weren't there, so to speak. And I thought his play away from the puck was pretty solid. His recognition skills, his details, whether it be D-zone coverage or faceoff responsibilities, things like that, where he was locked in. I think there's a lot of growth there, and he deserves a lot of credit for it."
The Penguins very clearly have some interest in what he might be able to provide moving forward, but it originally wouldn't have made sense to convert his emergency recall to a standard recall knowing that they'd have to send him or Drew O'Connor back to the AHL when Ryan Poehling is activated from long-term injured reserve. This is why Nylander was re-assigned on Thursday.
It's unclear which forward(s) are unable to go for Saturday's matchup with the Flyers, though it is worth noting Nick Bonino left briefly during Thursday's matchup with the Islanders after blocking a shot. He appeared to be favoring his arm.
