The future isn't fully clear with Alext Nylander, but he could be a useful member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

PITTSBURGH - It may have been an emergency recall and his time with the team is limited for the moment, but in one game, Alex Nyalnder proved he can be a useful addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup.

In Nylander’s debut with the team, the Penguins were forced to roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Without a practice under his belt, that had to make the transition a bit tougher for Nyalnder.

He battled through, however, and made his presence felt, even in a far from perfect game from the rest of the team.

Nylander was originally slated with Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen; as the game progressed, Nylander was pushed to a line with Jason Zucker and Evgeni Malkin, where he thrived.

Zucker scored the Penguins’ first goal of the game to spur the huge comeback and Nylander was credited with a secondary assist.

More than just his first point with the team, Nylander proved to be defensively aware on multiple occasions.

“Not trying to do too much in my first game,” Nylander said. “Just keep it simple. Move my feet and try and make some plays.”

Nylander has spent the whole season in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and recorded a team leading 50 points (25G-25A).

"I thought he played a solid game,” Mike Sullivan said. “One of the reasons why we moved him up the lineup the way we did is because we liked what we saw, and we thought we'd give him a shot with Geno's line.”

The future of Nylander in the Penguins lineup isn’t clear, but he has proven to be a worthy candidate for a consistent role.

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