FILE PHOTO – Oct 18, 2018; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown (28) attempts to poke the puck away from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Derick Brassard (19) in the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
November 17, 2018
Center Derick Brassard returned to practice on Friday and could be cleared to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Brassard joined his teammates for the full-contact practice session, but he remained listed as day-to-day.
The Penguins acquired Brassard from the Senators as part of a three-team deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in February.
Brassard, 31, has missed the last nine games since suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 25 against the Calgary Flames.
The Penguins, currently in next-to-last place in the Eastern Conference at 7-7-3, have gone 2-6-1 without Brassard in the lineup.
The losses have him itching to return.
“If you’re winning, I think it makes it a lot easier for when you’re out,” Brassard said, per NHL.com. “You just want to be out there and try to help out. … Guys battle hard and I think we’re really close. We probably had like two bad games in that bad stretch. I think a little bit of adversity for this team, it’s not going to be bad.”
Brassard’s return could be coming just in time for the Penguins.
Star center Sidney Crosby missed Thursday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and also is listed as day-to-day.
–Field Level Media
