The Pittsburgh Penguins will be getting a key player back into their lineup when they face the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Penguins' head coach Dan Muse announced ahead of Thursday's game in Edmonton that defenseman Erik Karlsson will be back in the lineup. In a corresponding move to activate Karlsson from injured reserve, fellow blueliner Ryan Graves was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Karlsson, 35, had missed the last five games with a lower-body injury. In his absence, the Penguins went 3-0-2 despite missing their No. 1 defenseman and the quarterback of the top power play unit.
However, the Penguins have failed to score a power play goal in five of their last six games, and they will need Karlsson on both special teams units Thursday.
The Penguins will have combat an Oilers power play that leads the league, operating at a 32.6 percent clip. The Penguins will face the 11th-ranked penalty kill, and their power play has fallen to third in the league behind Edmonton and the Dallas Stars.
Karlsson leads all Penguins' defensemen with four goals and 33 points in 44 games, including two goals and 13 points on the power play.
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