Penguins defenseman John Ludvig suffers concussion; goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic also injured
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman John Ludvig will be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with a concussion he suffered while making his NHL debut Tuesday in a 4-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars.
Coach Mike Sullivan announced Ludvig’s status Wednesday following a practice at PPG Paints Arena.
Ludvig was injured at 10:14 of the second period when he threw a violent check against Stars forward Radek Faksa in the neutral zone. In the process, Ludvig’s face struck Faksa’s helmet. While Faksa recovered to his skates quickly, Ludvig remained prone on the ice for several minutes.
After Penguins athletic trainer Chris Stewart and team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas, as well as Stars medical staffers, attended to Ludvig, he was able to skate off the ice but was so wobbly that Penguins forward Noel Acciari and defenseman Marcus Pettersson assisted him to the rampway leading to the dressing room.
“I’m disappointed for him,” Sullivan said. “He was so excited to play his first NHL game. I thought he was playing really well in that first part of the game there. It’s unfortunate. I feel badly for him. That’s a tough circumstance. … We’re certainly really encouraged what we saw last night out of (Ludvig).”
The Penguins claimed Ludvig, 23, off waivers from the Florida Panthers on Oct. 9, and he was a healthy scratch for the team’s first five games of the season before debuting Tuesday.
A left-handed shot, Ludvig (6-foot-1, 213 pounds) is in the first year of a two-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000.
Nedeljkovic also injured
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Penguins backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is hobbled with an undisclosed ailment and was placed on injured reserve.
The injury occurred during Tuesday’s game, which Nedeljkovic completed after making 31 saves on 35 shots. Nedeljkovic took to the ice at the start of Wednesday’s practice session but departed shortly after it began.
“He tried to practice today,” Sullivan said. “It was bothering him to the point where we’ve got to take further action, just with the evaluation process.”
In two games this season, Nedeljkovic has a 1-1-0 record, a 3.01 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Hellberg recalled
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With Nedeljkovic sidelined, veteran goaltender Magnus Hellberg was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
In two AHL games this season, Hellberg has a 1-1-0 record, a 2.55 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
One of the biggest goaltenders in professional hockey at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Hellberg has led a nomadic existence in the sport having played for 19 teams since first turning professional during the 2008-09 season.
The team made two corresponding paper transactions for the benefit of the salary cap as well. Forward Corey Andonovski was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while forward Radim Zohorna was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Each player is expected to be flipped for one another again by Thursday afternoon.
Andonovski, 24, was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sept. 25 and in three AHL games this season, he has one assist.
A right-handed shot, Andonovski is in the second year of a two-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $925,000. He does not require waivers to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Zohorna, 27, has appeared in two NHL games this season — primarily skating on the third line — and has one goal while averaging 11:10 of ice time per contest.
After clearing waivers on Oct. 9 and being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on that same day, Zohorna was recalled to the NHL roster on Oct. 20. He is signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000.