Penguins' Ryan Graves: Facing role reduction

Graves was scratched for the second game in a row in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.

Kris Letang's return from a lower-body injury has given the Penguins a full complement of blueliners. Graves played in 10 of 13 games in December, but he may not see as much playing time as long as the team's blue line stays healthy. Graves has had a miserable 2024-25 with zero points over 31 contests while posting a minus-8 rating, 23 shots on net, 36 hits and 40 blocked shots. For now, Owen Pickering and Pierre-Olivier Joseph have the upper hand for third-pairing minutes.