Pittsburgh Penguins on verge of gaining multiple returns from injury

The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently locked in a battle against the Florida Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. They sit just one point behind Florida with a game in hand at the time of writing. They have kept themselves in the race despite facing some major injury losses, although it now seems that reinforcements could be on the horizon.

On Sunday, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told the media, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh, that four significant injured Penguins skated on the day and could return before the conclusion of the regular season. The four players in question are Dmitry Kulikov, Marcus Pettersson, Jan Rutta, and Nick Bonino.

The returns of Kulikov, Pettersson, and Rutta could prove particularly helpful. Goaltender Tristan Jarry struggled for much of the month of March. Adding three significant defensive contributors could help Jarry return to form in time for some crucial late-season games or the first round of the playoffs (should Pittsburgh crack the field).

Some other injury notes:

• Philadelphia Flyers netminder Carter Hart has been out since his March 25th shutout over the Detroit Red Wings, but don’t expect Hart’s absence to extend for the rest of the season. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was asked if Hart’s injury would be season-ending, and he responded with a definitive “no,” per The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. While Hart’s absence has given the team the opportunity to take an extra look at Felix Sandstrom, getting Hart back into the crease before the end of the campaign would allow the netminder to put some finishing touches on what has been an impressive season.
• St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn had a bit of an injury scare during Sunday's game against the Boston Bruins, but seems to have moved past it. As covered by The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, Schenn took a skate to the hand before leaving for the locker room with a team athletic trainer. Schenn did return to the ice, though, and managed -- despite a cut finger and stitched-up face -- to notch an assist on teammate Jordan Kyrou’s goal, per Rutherford. It seems that the injury should not him out of any future contests, but given his importance to the Blues as a whole (he has 21 goals and 59 points this season) his status may be worth monitoring moving forward.