Penguins Lose Forward After Hand Surgery

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins are already dealing with a few injuries to their forward group, but a fight has caused another name to hit the injured list. Jansen Harkins dropped the gloves with Washington Capitals forward Beck Malenstyn in the Penguins’ 6-0 loss, and Harkins never returned to the game.

Penguins’ head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed the following day that Harkins underwent hand surgery and is expected to be out of the lineup on a long-term basis. According to the NHL Media Site, Harkins was moved to the Penguins injured reserve the morning after the game.

Harkins has played 43 games with the Penguins and has not scored a goal. He’s usually played regular minutes on the Penguins’ fourth line and has recorded four assists on the year.

The Penguins will be without Harkins for the foreseeable future and joins Bryan Rust and Matt Nieto on the injured reserve. Drew O’Connor is also out with a concussion, but is yet to be move to injured reserve.

Rust and O’Connor skated together prior to a full Penguins practice. Rust joined the rest of the team and is making progress towards a return. According to Sullivan, Rust is “a whole lot closer” to returning to game action.