Pittsburgh Penguins’ Reilly Smith out 'longer term' with upper-body injury

Smith, 32, left Thursday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks late in the first period after taking a hard hit and appearing to be in some pain on the bench. He had just one hit in 8:50 of ice time in the game, as the Penguins lost 4-3 in overtime.

Smith has been a bit underwhelming in his first season in Pittsburgh, with just 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 40 games. That puts him on pace for 41 points in a full 82-game season, which would be his lowest point total in a season where he’s played at least 60 games since 2016-17.

Smith was a former third-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2009 NHL Draft, and he spent two pro seasons with the Stars before he was traded to the Boston Bruins in the 2013 offseason as part of the return for Tyler Seguin. He spent another two seasons in Boston before he was dealt to the Florida Panthers when they offloaded Marc Savard’s contract in the 2015 offseason. He then spent another two seasons in Florida before he was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights to get Vegas to claim Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft in 2017. He spent six seasons in Vegas and won a Stanley Cup in 2023 before he was dealt to the Penguins.

Smith is currently in the second year of a three-year contract with a $5 million cap hit, one he signed with the Golden Knights in the 2022 offseason shortly after the start of free agency.

The Pens will look to bounce back from Thursday’s overtime loss when they face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST. They currently sit in sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 20-15-5 record, and are just two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with three games in hand.