Pittsburgh Penguins’ Zbynek Michalek to miss two to four weeks with upper-body injury
The Pittsburgh Penguins received some unfortunate news on Thursday, October 14, as defenceman Zbynek Michalek was lost to an upper-body injury.
Penguins’ head coach Dan Bylsma made the announcement one day after the Penguins faced the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs won 4-3 over Pittsburgh in the game, with Clarke MacArthur scoring the game-winning goal with only 44 seconds remaining in the
third period.
Michalek was signed to a five-year contract by the Penguins during the offseason in order to help bolster their defensive squad and account for the loss of Sergei Gonchar to the Ottawa Senators.
The native of Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic has spent the past five seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes, and was signed as a free agent by the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League in 2002. He made his National Hockey League debut with the Minnesota
Wild the following season.
Known for his great shot-blocking and defensive skills, Michalek’s best season totals came in 2006-07, where he scored four goals and 24 assists in 82 games for 28 points. Michalek is also one of the more durable defencemen in the NHL, as he has often played
for entire seasons without suffering any injuries. He has scored 27 goals and 88 assists for 115 points in 415 games in the NHL.
Michalek isn’t the only member of the Penguins to be sidelined with an injury. Bylsma also mentioned that defenceman Brooks Orpik is suffering day-to-day with a strained groin, while grinding forward Arron Asham is slated to be out for an additional two
weeks with an upper-body injury.
The Penguins are off to a rough start this season with a 1-3-0 record. The new season saw the opening of the much-larger Consol Energy Centre, which replaced Mellon Arena as the Penguins’ home rink. The team will play their next game against the New York
Islanders on Saturday, October 16.
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