Brodeur stumbles, Hornqvist injured, Byfuglien back on D and more…

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It just keeps piling up for the Penguins. Patric Hornqvist was drilled by Ryan Stanton (I won't talk about if it was clean or not, you can be your own judge. Hornqvist left the game and did not return. It sure looks like a concussion to me as Hornqvist and Stanton bumped noggins but no details were released.

Either way, with Hornqvist out Steve Downie was jumped onto the top line and top power play. I like Downie and all but this is desperation time. Pittsburgh was shutout, which gives them just one goal in their last 120 minutes.

Eddie Lack and the Canucks deserve some credit for blanking the Penguins but at this point their lack of depth is laughable. They have to make a move even if it's a throwaway deal like what the Ducks pulled getting Eric Brewer from the Lightning.

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Brewer, by the way, broke his foot the other night, which foils the Ducks plans. They slapped another Band-Aid on the situation trading Jesse Blacker for Colby Robak. I won't call these guys failed prospects because they are still so young but I don't think either guy has come along as expected of them as second round draft choices.

There's little fantasy impact beyond the short-term damage to Freddie Andersen's stats but that's more because of the injuries to Ben Lovejoy and Francois Beauchemin than the Band-Aids used to fill the void.

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I told you earlier this week that Aleksander Barkov might be headed towards a healthy scratch. He has missed the last two games due to a swollen hand, not the coach's decision. That changes the optics but Barkov owners have to hope that the effect is the same and that a couple of games off light a fire under his butt.

Not that expectations are high for Barkov. We all know the Panthers can barely score. I think we'd just like a repeat of last year's 36-point pace. What he's done so far isn't inspiring anything but doubt. The good news is that it also makes him a great trade target. Four points through 19 games and currently injured? That's not rock bottom but it is close.

Instead, it is Nick Bjugstad doing what many were hopeful that Barkov might though it's not entirely surprising given Bjugstad is farther along the developmental path is building off of a superior rookie season. Bjugstad, after a recent cold spell, went off for three points last night, including his ninth and 10^th goals of the season.

I've liked everything that I've seen from Bjugstad so far. I especially like how willing he is to shoot the puck. He looks very much like Jeff Carter with his large size, right-handed shot, and heavy release.

Bjugstad is up to 65 SOG this season, landing an average of 2.71 SOG per game. He still has a ways to go to reach Carter-esque levels of SOG production but it's a great improvement for the sophomore.

I figure his scoring (currently on pace for 51 points) will drop off a bit, particularly the goals. Even after factoring in the SOG spike, he's still shooting 15.4% thus far, which is much too high. He'll never produce a ton so long as he has to drag along Tomas Fleischmann and Jonathan Huberdeau (two points each last night) but there is hope for the future. Bjugstad will continue to improve, Huberdeau should as well and they'll inject more talent via the draft.

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Standing ovation for Sergei Bobrovsky. That performance last night was something else. After going up 3-0 the Blue Jackets were put under siege by the Panthers. Bobrovsky couldn't keep them from tying it up at 3-3 but he did hold them off long enough to force a shootout. This as his team was outshot 55-20. He then stopped all four shooters in the skills competition for a well-earned victory.