Rakell (upper body) has started skating and joined the Penguins for their three-game road trip, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports Monday.
Rakell's presence on the trip doesn't change his possible return date, as he is not eligible to play until Dec. 13 against the Canadiens at the earliest after being placed on long-term injured reserve. Still, the fact that the 30-year-old is skating certainly bodes well for a return to action sooner rather than later. With Rakell having yet to score this season in 17 contests, he may have to settle for a third-line role once activated off of LTIR.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Placed on LTIR
Rotowire
Rakell (upper body) was put on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, per CapFriendly.
Rakell will be out for at least 10 games and 24 days after being placed on LTIR. The Penguins announced Tuesday the 30-year-old Swede was dealing with a long-term injury. If Bryan Rust (lower body) misses any time as well, the Penguins will need to recall a pair of forwards from the minors.
Rakell is expected to be sidelined long-term due to an upper-body injury, Pens Inside Scoop reports Tuesday.
Rakell's absence, combined with concerns regarding Bryan Rust's (lower body) availability, leaves the Penguins extremely thin on the right wing. If both players are shelved versus the Rangers on Wednesday, Drew O'Connor or Radim Zohorna could be elevated to a top-six role.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Contributes pair of helpers
Rotowire
Rakell notched two assists, six shots on goal and two hits in Saturday's 10-2 win over the Sharks.
Rakell has had a difficult start to the year -- he snapped a seven-game point drought with this effort. The 30-year-old winger hasn't lost his spot on the second line, but his power-play time has started to dwindle, though one of his helpers Saturday was with the man advantage. Rakell has three assists, 30 shots on net, 10 hits and an even plus-minus rating through 10 contests overall.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: On board with helper
Rotowire
Rakell recorded an assist in Friday's 4-0 win over the Capitals.
Last season, Rakell put up 28 goals and 32 assists over a full season with the Penguins, which included a career-high 21 points on the man advantage. He's talented in his own right, but Rakell has the added bonus of playing alongside a future Hall of Famer in Evgeni Malkin, and opposite venerable winger Reilly Smith, who is fresh off a Stanley Cup-winning season with the Golden Knights.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Two points in victory
Rotowire
Rakell scored a goal and an assist on two shots, fueling the Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Wild on Thursday.
Rakell scored a power-play goal in the second period to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. He would add an assist on Jason Zucker's goal. This marks Rakell's second multi-point game in three games with four points in that span. On the season, the former Duck has 28 goals and 58 points in 79 games.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Nets a pair in win
Rotowire
Rakell scored two goals in Sunday's 4-2 victory over the Flyers.
Rakell opened the scoring in unusual fashion Sunday when his shot careened off the boards and behind Samuel Ersson to give Pittsburgh an early 1-0 lead. Rakell would add a second tally 3:13 later, redirecting a feed from Evgeni Malkin on a power play. The 29-year-old Rakell has six points (two goals, four assists) in his last five games. He's up to 27 goals and 56 points in 77 games this season, his highest total since 2017-18.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Posts two assists
Rotowire
Rakell collected two assists and six shots in the Penguins' 7-4 loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday.
Rakell assisted on goals from Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel. This game gives Rakell points in back-to-back games and ups his point total to 12 in the month of March. On the season, Rakell has 25 goals and 53 points in 74 games.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Supplies goal Monday
Rotowire
Rakell provided a goal in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Monday.
The net must be looking awfully big to Rakell, given that he's contributed four goals -- along with two assists -- over his last six contests. His latest efforts couldn't save the Penguins though. He tied the contest at 1-1 with his marker late in the third period, but Ottawa quickly regained the lead. Through 70 appearances this season, Rakell has 25 goals and 50 points. This is the first time the 29-year-old has reached the 25-goal or 50-point milestones since 2017-18.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Two points in Thursday's loss
Rotowire
Rakell scored a goal and an assist in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers.
Skating on a line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, Rakell got his team on the board late in the second period during a game in which the Penguins never led. The performance extended Rakell's point streak to four games, and over the last 16 contests the 29-year-old has piled up six goals and 16 points while mainly seeing top-six duty.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Logs an assist Tuesday
Rotowire
Rakell recorded an assist and six shots in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Canadiens.
Rakell grabbed a secondary assist on Kris Letang's tally in the second period. The 29-year-old Rakell has points in three straight games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last eight contests. He's primarily played on Pittsburgh's third line with Drew O'Connor and newly-acquired Mikael Granlund, though Rakell's value is boosted by his usage on the power play. Rakell is up to 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) through 67 games, his highest mark since 2017-18 when he posted 69 points with Anaheim.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Contributes helper
Rotowire
Rakell logged an assist and two shots on goal in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Islanders.
Rakell is on a four-game point streak, during which he's produced three goals and four helpers. He assisted on Jake Guentzel's first-period tally Monday. Rakell reached the 40-point mark for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, and he's on track to reach 50 points for just the third time in his career. The 29-year-old has 21 goals, 19 helpers, 172 shots, 88 hits and an even plus-minus rating through 56 outings this season.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Pots two goals Friday
Rotowire
Rakell scored two goals on a team-high eight shots with a plus-3 rating in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Islanders.
Both his tallies came in the second period, helping the Penguins build a 4-2 lead, but they couldn't solve Ilya Sorokin in the third. Rakell has three goals and five points over the last two games, the first time all season he's had back-to-back multi-point performances, and a spot alongside Sidney Crosby has the 29-year-old winger surging toward his first 30-goal campaign since 2017-18.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Three-point effort in win
Rotowire
Rakell scored a goal, added two assists, went plus-2 and logged two PIM in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Sharks.
Rakell had a pretty full stat line in a game where the Penguins' top line accounted for all of the team's offense. He scored in the first period and then helped out on both of Jake Guentzel's tallies later in the contest. Considering Rakell had just one assist over his last five games, this was a big performance. The 29-year-old forward is up to 19 tallies, 17 helpers, 157 shots on net, 85 hits and an even plus-minus rating through 53 outings.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Point streak reaches four games
Rotowire
Rakell netted a power-play goal in Pittsburgh's 4-1 win against Ottawa on Friday.
Rakell has 17 goals and 31 points in 45 games this season. He's on a four-game point streak and has provided three markers and six points over that span. His recent hot stretch has been a nice change of pace after Rakell was held to a goal and three points over nine contests from Dec. 22-Jan. 13.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Adds three assists Monday
Rotowire
Rakell registered three assists in a 4-3 overtime victory against Anaheim on Monday.
Rakell has now recorded at least a point in three of his last four contests. That's pushed him up to 15 goals and 29 points in 43 games this season. The 29-year-old's offensive pace is ahead of 2021-22, when he finished with 20 goals and 41 points in 70 outings.
Rakell found the back of the net in a 2-1 loss to Carolina on Saturday.
Rakell scored on the power play at 7:48 of the third period to narrow the Hurricanes' lead to 2-1, but Pittsburgh couldn't complete the comeback attempt. It was his 15th goal and 26th point in 42 games this season. Rakell was limited to just a goal and three points in his previous nine contests.
Rakell notched an assist and two shots on goal in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
Rakell began the game on the second line, but a shuffle during the contest saw him pick up first-line minutes in the third period. He set up Sidney Crosby's goal late in the final frame, though it had no impact on the result. With just three assists over seven games since his last goal, Rakell's offense has gone a bit sluggish. The 29-year-old is up to 13 tallies, 11 helpers, 116 shots on net, 65 hits and a plus-5 rating through 38 contests.
Rakell contributed a power-play goal in a 3-2 loss to Carolina on Sunday.
Rakell has 13 goals and 21 points in 31 games in 2022-23, including seven power-play points. The 29-year-old has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last six games. He entered the contest averaging 17:59 of ice time, including 2:28 with the man advantage, and Rakell should maintain his offensive pace as long as he stays in his current role.
... See More... See Less
Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Two-point night in Buffalo
Rotowire
Rakell scored an even-strength goal and a power-play assist in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres.
He knotted the score at 2-2 early in the third period before helping to set up Jeff Carter's winner 96 seconds into OT. Rakell continues to enjoy his time in a top-six role for the Penguins, and over the last 13 games he's piled up six goals and 11 points despite very little production (just two helpers) with the man advantage.
