NEWARK, N.J. — Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad will miss Tuesday’s road game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center because of an undisclosed injury. He will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis.
Coach Mike Sullivan did not disclose the nature of the injury but specified it is not related to the core muscle injury that kept Bjugstad sidelined from mid-November until last week.
Bjugstad has appeared in 13 games this season and has two points (one goal, one assist).
Notes:
• With Bjugstad absent from the morning skate, Evan Rodrigues moved up from the fourth line to the third line. The lines and pairings were:
Jason Zucker — Sidney Crosby — Conor Sheary
Patrick Marleau — Evgeni Malkin — Bryan Rust
Evan Rodrigues — Jared McCann — Patric Hornqvist
Sam Lafferty — Teddy Blueger — Brandon Tanev
Brian Dumoulin — Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson — John Marino
Jack Johnson — Justin Schultz
• The top power-play unit included Crosby, Hornqvist, Malkin, Schultz and Zucker. The second power-play unit was composed of Letang, Marino, Marleau, McCann and Rust.
• Goaltender Matt Murray is expected to start in net. In 37 games this season, Murray has a 19-11-5 record, 2.89 goals-against average, an .898 save percentage and one shutout.
• The Devils are expected to start goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. In 46 games this season, Blackwood has a 22-13-8 record along with a 2.74 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts.
