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Penguins’ Matt Grzelcyk leaves game vs. Rangers with upper-body injury
Hunter Crowther
Feb 23, 2025
Penguins’ Matt Grzelcyk leaves game vs. Rangers with upper-body injury
Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Penguins’ defenseman Matt Grzelcyk left Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury, with the Penguins announcing on social media that he would not return.

Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body injury) will not return to today’s game.

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 23, 2025

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Grzelcyk’s last shift was with five minutes to go in the first period after Rangers’ forward Matt Rempe delivered an awkward hit on the Pittsburgh blueliner. Grzelcyk stayed down for a few minutes after the hit, and needed help off the ice.

After review, Matt Rempe receives a two-minute penalty for this hit on Matt Grzelcyk pic.twitter.com/kuxKRoxhLu

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 23, 2025

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Rempe was initially assed a five-minute major penalty, but after review, they reverted the penalty to a two-minute minor for interference.

The 31-year-old Grzelcyk has one goal and 27 assists for 28 points in 58 games with the Penguins this season, third on the team in assists. Grzelcyk, a Charlestown, Ma., native, hit career highs in assists and points this season.

Now in his ninth NHL season, Grzelcyk has 26 goals and 137 assists for 163 points with the Penguins and Boston Bruins, the team he spent his first eight NHL seasons with.

Taken in the third round by the Bruins in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Grzelcyk’s first professional season was with Boston’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, scoring six goals and 26 assists for 32 points in 70 games.

Grzelcyk played four seasons of college hockey with Boston University, scoring 26 goals and 69 assists for 95 points between 2012-13 and 2015-16. Before going to college, he spent two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team in the USHL.

Going into Sunday’s game, the Penguins are 23-26-9 with 55 points, last in the Metropolitan Division. second last in the Eastern Conference.