Just when Pittsburgh Penguins fans were starting to map out line combinations and allow themselves a little preseason optimism, hockey season delivered its usual reality check. Second-year forward Ben Kindel, who was buzzing through training camp with something to prove, has officially been downgraded on the injury report. A rather conservative “day-to-day” term is now officially “week-to-week” due to a pesky problem that’s been bothering them in the lower half.
The injury happened on the night of the preseason defeat of the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, but not exactly how or when it went wrong is a bit of a mystery. Kindel had a hard collision with the net early on, got up a tad too slowly, but somehow wrapped up the period like a vintage tough hockey player. By the time the second period started, however, he was ruled out for the night, leaving everyone holding their breath until the front office confirmed the timeline shift.
Losing Kindel hurts, not only because of how he was setting himself up for a big year’s jump this year, but also because he was the first to feel the pain. He shocked everyone and stayed in the NHL as an 18-year-old to score 35 points in his first season, and he worked hard to bulk up and get a little more speed in his game this summer. He was looking crisp on a projected third line alongside Bryan Rust and Andrei Kuzmenko, bringing dynamic energy that this lineup sorely needs.
Now, head coach Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff are forced to scramble and play line-shuffle right as opening night looms. While it opens up a temporary door for guys like Tristan Broz, Filip Hallander, or Rutger McGroarty to step up and grab some valuable ice time, replacing Kindel’s specific playmaking isn’t going to be a simple plug-and-play fix.
While injuries are a given in the grind, getting the injury bug before the games even start is a hard pill to swallow. The fortunate part of all of this is that Kindel is young, resilient, and has yet to receive final test results to determine exactly what path he will take back on the ice. Here is hoping the week-to-week label leans toward the shorter side, because Steel City is eager to see number 11 back out there doing what he does best.
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