Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Brooks Orpik leaves game after blocking shot

orpiktopdefensived

James O’Brien

Add another name to the list of the walking wounded for the Pittsburgh Penguins. With about two minutes left in the 1st period, Brooks Orpik took a puck off the hand while trying to block a shot off the stick of Patrick Marleau. He left the ice shaking his hand and immediately headed to the locker room. After the intermission and a 20-minute delay due to a lighting problem at the CONSOL Energy Center, he still was nowhere to be found.

Ironic that the Pens would lose yet another player to injury on the same night they welcomed James Neal and Matt Niskanen. Orpik’s injury is just the latest in a string of injuries the Penguins have dealt with lately. Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz, and Paul Martin were all out of the line-up against the Sharks and only Martin is day-to-day.

Starting play in the 2nd period, newcomer Niskanen was playing on the top-pairing with Norris-Trophy candidate Kris Letang. Obviously Dan Bylsma will have even more juggling to do with losing one of the best defenseman on his roster.

We’ll post an update as soon as we have one.