Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel: Photo by Dan Kingerski CRANBERRY TWP., Pa. — Two weeks after a scary health incident on the team plane coming home from a miserable four-game road trip, Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel returned to the ice Tuesday for practice.
Kindel suffered what general manager Kyle Dubas termed a vasovagal episode shortly after takeoff on the team’s charter flight home from Salt Lake City, the day after the Penguins completed an imperfect 0-for-4 road trip through Chicago, Colorado, Vegas, and Utah. Kindel briefly lost consciousness, but was tended to by team physician Dr. Vyas.
The plane turned around, and Kindel was rushed to the University of Utah Medical Center and returned home two days later. Fortunately for all involved, the incident seems to have been scarier than serious.
Kindel was on the ice Tuesday in a regular sweater, though he was in the smaller group on Rink 2; once again, the Penguins split the team between the pair of rinks at the UPMC Lemieux Complex for different drills and skills work. This season, Kindel, 19, has four points (2-2-4) in nine games.
After being in a full-contact sweater during Sunday’s limited practice, forward Justin Brazeau was in a green jersey. That’s a unique designation, and recent recalls Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes were also in green.
Penguins defenseman Sam Girard again returned to the ice and was in the white sweater, traditionally used for non-contact. Update 1: Egor Chinakhov, who has been out day-to-day, also returned to practice and was in a full-contact sweater.
Soderblom Injury The team announced before practice began that towering 6-foot-8 winger Elmer Soderblom was out Tuesday with an upper-body injury. He’s currently listed as day-to-day.
This season, Soderblom, 25, has been in and out of the lineup, serving as a healthy scratch. He’s played in six of the team’s 12 games, registering one assist.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now will update the story following practice, when coach Dan Muse addresses the media. Penguins Lines Coach Dan Muse did make two tweaks, one substantial.
With Girard taking regular shifts in 5v5 drills despite the non-contact jersey. Girard skated with Kaedan Korczak, while Ilya Solovyov was on the extra pairing with Chase Pietila.
However, for the first time this season, Muse elevated Kindel in the lineup by putting him between Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin. Tommy Novak-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell Egor Chinakhov-Ben Kindel-Evgeni Malkin Andrei Kuzmenko-Hendrix Lapierre-Ville Koivunen Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Nick Robertson Defense Spencer Stastney-Erik Karlsson *Sam Girard-Kaedan Korczak Declan Carlile-Kris Letang Goalies: Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov
