PITTSBURGH — The surging Pittsburgh Penguins will have to try to keep their hot streak going without defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Jason Zucker.
The Penguins have placed Petry on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday the team expects Petry to be out for an extended period.
Petry, traded from Montreal over the summer, was injured during a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. He will miss at least 10 games.
Zucker briefly left a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday night in the second period after blocking a shot. He returned to play in the third period but was described as “week-to-week” by Sullivan.
The 30-year-old Zucker has had trouble staying healthy for most of his three-plus seasons in Pittsburgh. Zucker has six goals and 14 assists through 27 games for the Penguins, who are 13-2-2 over their last 17 games heading into a visit to Florida on Thursday night to face the Panthers.
“Obviously, we feel for Zuck, because he’s played extremely well for us this year,” Sullivan said. “He’s finally put a string of games together where he’s been in the lineup for a number of games. It’s been a struggle since he’s been a Penguin just keeping them healthy. So, we’re hopeful we’re not going to lose him too long here.”
The Panthers, last postseason’s No. 1 seed, have been struggling of late, but they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 on Tuesday night and are averaging 3.4 goals per game with the type of offense that can expose a team missing Petry.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.