Things have been rocky for the Pittsburgh Penguins lately, and that probably goes double for Christian Ehrhoff’s injury-ravaged season.
Ehrhoff suffered what looked like an upper-body injury during Tuesday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues, which left onlookers concerned about another possible concussion:
Ehrhoff almost fell walking to the locker room once he skated off the ice. Not good.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) March 24, 2015
And Ehrhoff is down again, this time after spilling into the boards on a Tarasenko check. Given his recent issues, this probably isn't good.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) March 24, 2015
Yikes. Here’s a quick rundown of the maladies he’s already faced in a star-crossed season with the Penguins, with help from the Hockey News’ listings:
- Missed five games with a lower-body injury.
- Missed 12 games with a head injury.
- Missed six games with an undisclosed issue.
- Missed another contest with an undisclosed injury.
In the 49 games the 32-year-old managed to play, he’s generated 14 points and a +8 rating.
Being without a valuable defenseman is never easy, yet this stings the Penguins a bit more since things have been tense lately. They’ve now lost five of their last six games and cannot totally dismiss the possibility of falling into the wild card mix, as their grasp on the Metropolitan Division’s third spot is slipping (the Washington Capitals are just three points behind with the same number of games remaining).
It has to be a frustrating situation for the Penguins and Ehrhoff, and one cannot help but wonder if he’ll be 100 percent once the playoffs roll around.