Penguins Recall Big Forward From AHL Conditioning Assignment

Even if the Pittsburgh Penguins' injury curse is never-ending, they did get a good dose of news Monday.

After playing in two AHL games and registering an assist on an AHL conditioning loan, Penguins' forward Justin Brazeau officially returned to Pittsburgh Monday and was a full participant in practice with the team. The 6-foot-7, 236-pound forward has been out since training camp with a lower-body injury, which he sustained during a pre-season game.

The 28-year-old right wing - who recorded 17 goals and 34 points in 64 games with the Penguins last season - is expected to be in action Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights in Pittsburgh.

"Got a couple of games there in Wilkes, played well," head coach Dan Muse said. "Good day in practice."

"You got the combination of the size, the hands, play down low, in front of the net. You can go back to the way he scores goals. He gets a lot of opportunities in-zone, but he also shows the ability where he can create and attack off the rush as well."

Brazeau had a hot start for Pittsburgh last season, putting up six goals and 12 points in 12 games during the month of October. An injury forced him out of the lineup for the entirety of November and into December, and although he had spurts of production on and off for Pittsburgh last season, he could never quite replicate his October production the rest of the season. 

As a result, he found himself in the press box at times down the stretch, and he appeared in only one game out of six during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. This season is no different in terms of the internal forward competition, so Brazeau is chomping at the bit to get going. 

But he also has realistic expectations for himself jumping back into the lineup after so much time off.

"I'm not putting too much pressure on myself to execute every play perfectly," Brazeau said. "I think it's just more kind of getting back in the rhythm of things and getting back in the flow of the game."

Brazeau is also coming back in on the same day it was announced that forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kaedan Korzcak are day-to-day with lower-body injuries. Forward Elmer Soderblom has also been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week.

"It's tough in this league if you're falling behind with injuries and stuff," Brazeau said. "So, hopefully we get a few more guys healthy here, too." 

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