The Penguins penalty kill will be shorthanded, literally and figuratively, for a little while, beginning with this weekend's games at Dallas and St. Louis.
Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney, two integral members of the NHL's seventh-ranked penalty killing unit, will not make the trip with lower body injuries sustained in Tuesday's win over Vegas.
Mike Sullivan announced after Thursday's practice that Kuhnhackl is out week to week while Rowney is day to day. The Penguins skated with 11 forwards in practice, but Teddy Blueger was recalled later in the day.
The good news on the injury front for the Penguins is that it appears that Conor Sheary will play this weekend.
Rowney was injured after blocking an Alex Tuch shot early in the first period Tuesday. It was unclear how Kuhnhackl was hurt, but he left the game midway though the first period.
It's also unclear how the Penguins will get by without two of their main penalty killers, but Sullivan said it's basically a case of all men on deck.
"We'll ask some guys to have to kill," Sullivan said. "Jake (Guentzel) has killed. We can utilize Jake. We can utilize Sid if we have to. I think Zach Aston-Reese has been a really good penalty killer for Wilkes-Barre. He's another guy that we can utilize. Then we have Riley (Sheahan) and (Carl Hagelin) as well. I think we have enough guys to get the job done."
If there's ever a good weekend to be missing two penalty killers, this might be the one. The Stars power play ranks 13th at 20.6 percent, while the Blues are 28th at 16 percent.
Kuhnhackl has two goals and six assists in 50 games while Rowney has two goals, one shorthanded, and two assists in 30 games.
Sheary started out Thursday's practice in a white non-contact jersey but finished it as a full participant. Sheary, who has 12 goals and 19 points in 52 games, has been out since Jan. 30 with a lower body injury.
"Felt good," Sheary said. "Had a good week off there. Felt good today."
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