Penguins Injury Updates on Glass, Hayes; Nieto Plan

A couple of injured Pittsburgh Penguins forwards could be out of the lineup for a while, according to updates provided Sunday by coach Mike Sullivan following the team’s practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Cody Glass, who is on IR, has been diagnosed with a concussion. There typically is no timetable for recovery and return from that injury.

Kevin Hayes, who has missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury, will be out on a week-to-week basis.

Each is in his first season with the Penguins. Glass has no goals, four assists in 14 games. Hayes has three goals, one assist in 14 games.

In something that’s sort of the opposite of concerning injury news, Sullivan said forward Matt Nieto is likely to spend the full allowable two weeks on his conditioning assignment to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Nieto had a goal Saturday in his first game with WBS.

Nieto is coming off two knee surgeries and has not played an NHL game since Nov. 23, 2023. He was practicing in full before he went to WBS, but Sullivan noted that his situation dictates a longer time to get up to full speed.

“When you think about his rehab, it’s been a year since he’s played a game, so it’s a long time,” Sullivan said. “For him to get into some game-real scenarios I think is really essential to set him up for success.”