Penguins’ Justin Brazeau Out Week-To-Week

It appears the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup will stay shaken up by injury. Three players have been designated as out with upper-body injuries. Winger Justin Brazeau is out on a week-to-week basis, while center Kevin Hayes and defenseman Samuel Girard are out day-to-day. Brazeau and Hayes missed Sunday’s overtime win over the Boston Bruins while Girard played 18 minutes in the matchup. It is not clear when exactly the trio of injuries were sustained.

Brazeau was originally deemed as out day-to-day. His downgraded status will be bad news for a Penguins’ top-six already without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Brazeau has emerged as a hot hand in the Penguins lineup this season. He has 16 goals and 30 points in 48 games, fourth on the team in goals and seventh in total scoring. It is a breakout year after Brazeau stamped his NHL spot with 20 points in 57 games with the Boston Bruins last season. He finished his 2024-25 campaign with the Minnesota Wild but moved on after only scoring two points in 19 games with the club. Brazeau signed a two-year, $3MM contract with Pittsburgh on July 1st.

Another man down will force another promotion into the Penguins’ top-six. Wingers Egor Chinakhov and Ville Koivunen earned increased minutes in the wake of Pittsburgh’s superstar injuries, while Rickard Rakell moved to a center role. Chinakhov has earned his keep with five points in seven games since the return from the Winter Olympic break – but Pittsburgh’s offense overall has dwindled to a 3.00 goals-per-game average in that span, down from their 3.37 average across the full season.

While attempting to patch holes in the top-six, Pittsburgh will also need to make up for Hayes and Girard on their bottom lines. Rookies Avery Hayes and Benjamin Kindel have recently split center duties in the bottom-six, while Connor Clifton will draw back onto the blue-line. The Penguins success this season has largely been driven by their rookie forwards, making the boost in minutes timely. Clifton only has five points in 32 appearances this season – though he has stayed above bar with a plus-two, one of seven Penguins defensemen with a positive plus-minus.

The Penguins will likely lean on their top lines and veteran skaters as they take on the top team in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes, on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh sits second in their division, eight points behind Carolina.