Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson left practice early on Monday in Cranberry after he accidentally collided with a teammate.
Approximately 20 minutes into the session, Matheson fell to the ice after coming into contact with an unidentified teammate. Matheson laid on the ice for several moments as athletic trainer Chris Stewart attended to him. Eventually, Matheson was able to recover to his skates and left the ice under his own power, retreating to the dressing room.
Coach Mike Sullivan did not provide an update on Matheson’s status beyond acknowledging he was being evaluated.
The 2020-21 season has been difficult for Matheson from a health standpoint. An undisclosed injury he suffered in the second game of the campaign has limited him to three games and no points.
After missing eight games due to that injury, he returned to the lineup on Saturday during a 4-3 road loss to the New York Islanders. In that contest, Matheson logged a season-high 20:49 of ice time on 26 shifts and had two shots on net.
Matheson was acquired this past offseason, along with forward Colton Sceviour, in a September trade that sent popular power forward Patric Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers.
The Penguins’ defense has been socked hard by injuries this season. Currently, defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola and Zach Trotman (as well as forward Evan Rodrigues) are on injured reserve.
Notes:
• Forward Jared McCann continues to be evaluated for an undisclosed injury he suffered during the first period of Saturday’s game.
• According to Sullivan, Pettersson skated prior to practice with the taxi squad.
