It’s been 11 days since Pittsburgh Penguins Forward Ville Koivunen last played in a match.
He played in the first game of the NHL Global Series against the Nashville Predators in Sweden before getting smashed. He was ultimately placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury and designated as “week to week.”
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Koivunen returned to training this week and was making third-row runs with Tristan Broz and Tommy Novak on Tuesday. Assuming Koivunen is cleared to return on Wednesday against the Buffalo swordshe’s excited to have the chance to play with Broz after the two were teammates in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last year and a bit this year.
“It’s a lot of fun to play with him. Of course, we played a lot together last year, so he’s a great player. He’s great with the puck. He can win battles as well,” Koivunen said after Tuesday’s practice.
Koivunen is still looking for his first NHL goal, but it’s not for lack of trying. He hit multiple posts and had other glorious chances, but the puck didn’t find the back of the net.
His confidence had grown since returning from WBS before he was injured. Now he’ll try to help the Penguins break out of their rut as they’ve lost seven of their last nine games and are unable to make the playoffs on Wednesday.
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