The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to close out the series against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night with a win on the road for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins will get a big boost for the potential elimination game, as star forward and trade deadline acquisition Rickard Rakell appears set to make his return to the series, having been sidelined since Game 1, per Michelle Crechiolo.
GREAT NEWS:
Rickard Rakell is on the ice for Penguins practice wearing a regular black jersey!
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) May 10, 2022
Crechiolo reported that Rakell was skating in a regular black practice jersey on Wednesday, indicating that he's no longer dealing with an injury and should be good to suit up in Game 5. Rakell was injured in the first period of Game 1 after taking a vicious high hit from Rangers' defenseman Ryan Lindgren. He's been out ever since but is trending towards a return in Game 5.
Even if he's unable to suit up on Wednesday night, his progression in practice suggests it won't be long until he's back on the ice. Prior to sustaining the injury in Game 1, Rakell had logged just over four minutes on the ice and had two shots on goal. Getting him back would be a big boost to the offense as they look to continue to overwhelm the shoddy Rangers defense and keep scoring on Igor Shesterkin, who has looked like a shell of himself over the past two games.
The Penguins acquired Rakell at the trade deadline from the Anaheim Ducks. Since joining the Pens, Rakell has featured in 19 games, scoring 4 goals and assisting 9. He had 28 points in 51 games in Anaheim prior to the trade that brought him to Pittsburgh.
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