Best Internal Options if Marcus Pettersson is Injured

The already beleaguered Pittsburgh Penguins defense might get more bad news on Monday.

Stalwart defenseman Marcus Pettersson, 28, who will be a free agent after this season is generally seen as the rock of the Penguins defense. However, later in the first period on Saturday night, Pettersson suffered a lower body injury, left the game, and did not return.

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not have an immediate update following the game, saying only, “he’s out with a lower body injury.“

The Penguins are carrying seven defenseman so there isn’t a lack of a plug and play option. Left-handed Ryan Shea could slot into the lineup on either the left or right side.

Yet the context of the necessary changes could be significant.

Matt Grzelcyk has been playing the right side on the third pairing, but has struggled with ups and downs in the role, including being on the wrong side of Drake Batherson, who scored the go-ahead goal for the Ottawa Senators Saturday.

Without Pettersson, Grzelcyk is likely to re-assume a top-four role.

Injuries have also taken their toll on the Penguins’ depth. The top two NHL options of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Sebastian Aho and Jack St. Ivany, are also injured, leaving few if any guaranteed internal options ready for NHL ice.

3 Penguins Defense Options

1. Mac Hollowell

The spritely defenseman has helped the WBS Penguins power play and has become one of their top defenseman. Hollowell 26, has six games of NHL experience played for the Toronto Maple Leafs while current Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was the Toronto GM.

This season, he has 15 assists in 20 games for WBS.

Hollowell, 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, is a right handed defenseman, which would allow coach Mike Sullivan to return to his balanced pairings by moving Grzelcyk to the left side on one of the top two pairings, while he pairs Ryan Graves and Hollowell.

The PHN scouting report from our trip to WBS a couple of weeks ago on Hollowell was quite positive. Hollowell skates well, is agile and possesses crisp puck movement. He’s also not afraid to battle along the walls.

The book on Hollowell is that he can also get a little bit lost in the defensive zone. He is a depth NHL defenseman, but would not be out of his depth in the big show.

2. Filip Kral

The depth defenseman also has a couple of games of NHL experience with Toronto while Dubas was the GM.

Kral had an outside chance to make the NHL roster in training camp, but didn’t make nearly enough impact. Unlike Hollowell, Kral has NHL size, but he is left-handed.

Kral is 6-foot-2, 198 pounds. He has 12 points (3-9-12) in 15 games but is a minus-5.

Recalling Kral would be a depth move, as he would likely only serve as a seventh defenseman keeping Ryan Shea or Grzelcyk on the right side.

3. Do Nothing

The Penguins could opt to roll with just six defenseman, especially if Pettersson will not be put on IR or long dash term injured reserve.