John Marino has been one of the best rookies in the NHL this year and we have been anxiously waiting for an update on his status. It’s both good and bad
#Pens HCMS:
— Josh Getzoff (@PensJG) February 10, 2020
- Marino will have surgery; no timetable but not season-ending
- Kahun skated this morning; progressing
- Bjugstad & Dumoulin did not skate today
Surgery is not ever ideal, but the designation that it will not end his season is a good thing. We all saw how breaking a jaw is a real tough thing to overcome when Brooks Orpik his Sidney Crosby in the face with a puck. Marino’s injury appears to be in the cheek area and perhaps wearing a cage can get him back faster than if it was a broken jaw. That is my glass half full approach.
Now do the Penguins need to panic because of Marino’s injury diagnosis? Yes and no. The Penguins still have Kris Letang, Justin Schultz, and Chad Ruhwedel on the right side. This is fine considering the injury predicament. They can navigate the injury with those three. There might be room for panic if Brian Dumoulin doesn’t start skating soon because the left side of the Penguins blue line is not very good at the moment. John Marino’s success played into the issues on the left side not being as bad. Dumoulin severed tendons and his initial prognosis had him skating by now. The team was great defensively and has since slipped after Dumoulin exited the lineup. The Penguins are in a good spot in the standings, but they might need to go fishing for a left handed defenseman. I’ll take a gander through some options in the coming days.
Domimiik Kahun skating is great. He’s been a nice addition to the forward depth and they’ve missed him. He will help with the trickledown effect
Penguins' lines/pairings
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) February 10, 2020
Simon - Crosby - Hornqvist
McCann - Malkin - Rust
ZAR - Blueger - Tanev
Galchenyuk - Lafferty - Angello
Johnson - Letang
Pettersson - Schultz
Riikola - Ruhwedel
With Kahun in the lineup he can slot in with Malkin while McCann can go back to Crosby. I think those are better fits for Malkin and Crosby.
Thanks for reading!