There’s no doubt that the Pittsburgh Penguins did not get off to the start they wanted to in the first game of the NHL Global Series.
Pittsburgh dropped the contest, 2-1, in overtime to one of the league’s bottom teams this season in the Nashville Predators, and – honestly – they’re lucky to have even earned a point. They were outplayed for the final 40 minutes of the game and were bailed out by goaltender Arturs Silovs.
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Of course, the Penguins still have the second game against Nashville on Sunday to conclude the Global Series, and they could very well still walk away from their road trip to Stockholm, Sweden with three out of four points. While that is the best they can do at this point, the Penguins need to bank points.
They have lost five out of their last six games for a 1-3-2 record. Seven of their next eight contests may be against current non-playoff opponents, but they haven’t exactly been playing inspired enough hockey lately to instill confidence that they’ll get the better of those games. Maybe the early-season success was a mirage, and maybe this is who they truly are.
Or, maybe it’s not. Maybe, their key injuries are simply getting the better of them right now, and they could use some kind of boost to their roster.
And – maybe – a solution is waiting in the wings at the AHL level in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS).
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on X
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on X Brozer gets us going!!
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Center Tristan Broz has eight goals and 13 points in 15 games on the AHL season, including four goals in the last five games. The 23-year-old forward – selected in the second round (58th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft – impressed in training camp this year with two goals in four games and was one of the final cuts before NHL rosters were announced.
The Penguins are in a pretty dire situation with their injuries. Top-line winger Rickard Rakell – last season’s leading goal-scorer at 35 – is out with a broken hand for at least another month, and second-line winger Justin Brazeau had six goals and 12 points in 12 games and will be out until around mid-December. Before both players went down, the Penguins were one of the league’s best teams in the scoring and goal differential departments, and – since Brazeau’s injury – the Penguins have been mired in that 1-3-2 spell and have only scored 14 goals in contrast to the opposition’s 19.
Their injuries are making a legitimate difference right now because they’re testing the team’s scoring depth at the forward position. But, at the time of each player’s injury, they were two of the team’s top-three goal scorers – and that certainly doesn’t lend to the Penguins being able to find the back of the net with regularity.
October Penguins’ Prospects Update: Forwards
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It has also forced them to move 18-year-old rookie center Ben Kindel – who had been thriving as the team’s third-line center – into a top-line role with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. Even though Kindel has been fine in that role, it has hampered the Penguins’ ability to roll four lines, and they’re a much deeper team with Kindel as their third-line center.
And that’s the issue the Penguins face right now: If they move Kindel back into that role, who plays with Crosby? They could move the snakebitten Ville Koivunen up in the lineup, but that would take a capable player away from Kindel. They could move Tommy Novak up, but that would affect the Malkin line and pose the same problem.
Having Broz in the picture – in addition to guys like Kindel and Koivunen – gives the Penguins some options in terms of deployment. Broz is a capable two-way center and could very well slot in the third-line center role, allowing the team to keep Kindel with Crosby. They could also bump Koivunen up with 87 and allow Broz and Kindel to play together on a line, which shouldn’t be an issue since Broz has played on the wing.
Sep 22, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tristan Broz (26) plays the puck during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Simply put, it will be weeks before the Penguins are even close to full health. Given how close the Eastern Conference standings are, they can’t afford to throw away valuable points in this upcoming stretch of games against teams that they, on paper, should beat.
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Right now, the Penguins can’t roll four lines effectively, and they need another set of young, fresh, capable legs to shore up their bottom-six depth. There’s no guarantee that Broz will pan out at the NHL level, but calling him up certainly shouldn’t hurt things, and there is a good chance that he’s an upgrade over what they currently have.
So, it’s time for the Penguins to begin ushering in more youth on the roster. Giving Broz the call should be the first thing the Penguins do when they return to Pittsburgh next week.
Takeaways: Penguins’ Lack Of Injury Depth Exposed In 2-1 Loss To Predators During First Game Of Global Series
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