Feisty forward Bunting out following appendix removal

He’s sidelined indefinitely following the operation.

Whatever the Pittsburgh Penguins hope to accomplish with the remainder of their season, they’ll have to do it without the services of forward Michael Bunting for the foreseeable future.

The vexing, gritty net-front presence will be sidelined indefinitely following surgery to remove his appendix.

Further details of his ordeal were not available, but his absence is an additional blow to a team that keeps taking gut punches in the late stages of an unappetizing season.

In 58 games this season, Bunting has scored 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) while averaging 15:15 of ice time per contest while typically skating on the left wing of the second line. He leads the team in power-play goals with nine.

“He’s a competitive guy,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He goes to the battle areas. He has an uncanny ability to score, in particular on the power play. He hasn’t scored as much lately. He’s just a competitive guy that goes to the net front. He plays in the battle areas, he makes it hard on our opponents in a number of different ways. He also has an uncanny ability to irritate people out there and that helps the group.

“When you have players like that, I think it drags us into the fight. And that’s an important aspect of becoming a team and making sure we’re invested emotionally into the game. And he’s one of those guys.”

Imama returns

Penguins forward Boko Imama was activated from injured reserve and rejoined the lineup for Thursday’s home contest against the Philadelphia Flyers after being sidelined for four games.

He opened Thursday’s game on the left wing of the fourth line.

Energy is largely what the combative Imama provides and he pledged to supply just that.

“That will be my goal if I play,” Imama said following an optional morning skate in Cranberry. “I’m feeling great, feeling 100%. My energy is at the right place. If I have a chance to play, that’s what you’re going to see tonight.”

Nieto heads to Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton

Penguins forward Matt Nieto cleared waivers and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton of the American Hockey League.

His season has been far from ideal, even well before he was waived.

After undergoing surgery to his right knee in December of 2023, Nieto had surgery on his right knee knee in May of 2024 and opened this season on long-term injured reserve. He did not rejoin the lineup until Nov. 15 and in 31 games, he has three points (one goal, two assists).

Sullivan lauded Nieto’s perseverance.

“(Nieto) has been an unbe- lievable teammate,” Sullivan said. “He brings it every single day. The road to get back to playing was an extremely difficult one. He did an amazing job to get himself back to playing condition. That was a tough challenge for him in and of itself. As far as performance is concerned, I think it has been up and down. He’s had his moments when he’s been very good for us. The biggest area he helps in obviously is playing in a checking capacity on (the fourth) line. Then on the penalty kill. Those were the two areas where the expectation is high and that’s the value that he brings to the group. These decisions are never easy. He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s been an incredible teammate for those guys. I know he’s a popular guy in the room.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for him as a person, as a pro. He’s a great teammate.”

With Nieto sent to Wilkes- Barre/Scranton, the NHL Penguins recalled forward Emil Bemstrom for the third time this season. Bemstrom was a healthy scratch Thursday, along with defensemen P.O Joseph and Vladislav Kolyachonok.