Penguins Activate Trevor van Riemsdyk From IR

The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially activated defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk off of injured reserve. The right-defender has missed the last 14 games with a lower-body injury sustained on October 9th.

Van Riemsdyk will have plenty of time to shake off rust with Pittsburgh’s next matchup on Thursday. A return to the lineup will bring the next chance for the 35 year old to score his first point of the season – after recording no points, a minus-one, and 10 shot blocks in the first five games of the season. He played a premier role despite the quiet stat line, averaging 18:48 in ice time – his most since the 2022-23 season. The bulk of that ice time came next to Penguins legend Kris Letang.

In roughly a month since Van Riemsdyk’s absence, Letang has shifted onto pairings with Declan Carlile and Spencer Stastney. Neither duo has popped – with Letang and Carlile being outscored four-to-six while Letang and Stastney have broken even with one goal-for and one goal-against. Those quiet performances could push the Penguins to pair Letang and Van Riemsdyk back together, while Stastney and Carlile compete for the last lineup spot.

While his return will bring more stability to Pittsburgh’s even-strength lines, Van Riemsdyk’s biggest impact will come on the penalty-kill. He led the team with 3:10 in average short-handed ice time and successfully killed off 13 of his 14 penalty-kills before going down. The Penguins had the third-best penalty-kill in the league before Van Riemsdyk’s injury and have fallen to 19th since he was hurt. That swing has accounted for 10 goals against, or an additional 0.71 goals-against per-game.

The Penguins should see their fortunes turn back towards the positive with their top penalty-killer back in the fold. Pittsburgh has averaged the seventh-most goals-against per-game (3.67) since Van Riemsdyk’s injury, leading the team to a 2-3-2 record. They’ll face an easier slate in upcoming games, with matchups against the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, and Calgary Flames part of their next four games.