Ben Kindel returned from a lower-body injury on Saturday and made an immediate impact, scoring in his season debut as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens.
The 19-year-old center’s goal gave Pittsburgh another young option back in the lineup after he missed time with the injury. It also offered a quick reminder of why the Penguins are paying close attention to his development after his rookie season.
Kindel gives Pittsburgh another young center option
For a team trying to balance short-term results with long-term growth, getting Kindel back matters. He is still early in his NHL career, and every game like this helps him build toward a larger role.
After the game, Kindel said he remains hungry to establish himself in the NHL and talked about wanting to improve in “a lot of things.” That is a broad answer, but it fits where he is in his career: the next step is not just getting back on the ice, but showing he can keep taking on more responsibility.
The goal in his first game back was a useful starting point. Now the Penguins will get a better look at how Kindel fits alongside the rest of their center depth as the season moves forward.
Other Penguins and NHL notes
The rest of the weekend brought a few other Penguins-related items. Andrei Kuzmenko made his Penguins debut in Pittsburgh’s home opener, while David Gustafsson was assigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after clearing waivers on Sunday afternoon.
There was also sad news over the weekend, when Lyle Odelein died at age 58. Odelein won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
Elsewhere around the league, the Florida Panthers placed Aleksander Barkov on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury. And at Belmont Park, the horse named Gaudreau finished second in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes.
