Penguins place forward Matt Nieto on waivers

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Matt Nieto on waivers Wednesday afternoon.

Should he go unclaimed by 2 p.m. on Thursday, the team could assign Nieto to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).

In 31 NHL games this season, Nieto has scored three points (one goal, two assists). Primarily utilized on the fourth line, he has averaged 12:14 of ice time per contest.

As of late, Nieto has been a healthy scratch in eight of the team’s past 15 games.

He also appeared in two AHL contests during a conditioning assignment in November and scored one goal.

Nieto, a left-handed shot, opened the season on injured reserve while recovering from offseason knee surgery.

The 32-year-old is in the final year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $900,000.

Notes:

• Penguins forward Michael Bunting was absent from practice in Cranberry on Wednesday. Coach Mike Sullivan reported Bunting was not feeling well but did not elaborate.

• Penguins forward Boko Imama practiced in a full-contact capacity. Currently designated to regular injured reserve, Imama has missed the past four games due to an undisclosed ailment.

• The team’s lines and pairings during practice were:

67 Rickard Rakell - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust

72 Anthony Beauvillier - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 19 Cody Glass

43 Danton Heinen - 13 Kevin Hayes - 53 Philip Tomasino

83 Matt Nieto - 46 Blake Lizotte - 55 Noel Acciari

73 P.O Joseph - 58 Kris Letang

24 Matt Grzelcyk - 65 Erik Karlsson

5 Ryan Shea - 7 Vincent Desharnais

27 Ryan Graves - 23 Vladislav Kolyachonok

• The top power-play unit included Crosby, Hayes, Karlsson, Rakell and Rust. The second unit involved Grzelcyk, Heinen, Letang, Malkin and Tomasino.