Penguins recall Joel Blomqvist as emergency backup for Game 6 playoffs

The Penguins brought Joel Blomqvist up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, a playoff-day move that put the 24-year-old Finn in emergency-backup duty for Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. It was a rare jump from the American Hockey League to NHL playoff standby, and it underlined how thin Pittsburgh’s crease picture remains at the most unforgiving point of the season.

Blomqvist was expected to serve as Pittsburgh’s No. 3 goaltender and only see the ice if an injury or other emergency forced the team’s hand. Even without a likely appearance, the recall mattered. The Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022, but their return has come with persistent questions in net, and this move showed the organization is still protecting itself against the kind of postseason chaos that can flip a series in one shift.

The decision also pushed one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects into the spotlight at exactly the moment his organization needs every layer of depth intact. Blomqvist, a second-round pick in 2020 at No. 52 overall, spent the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after earlier missing time with a lower-body injury that was expected to sideline him for at least four weeks. His NHL résumé already includes 15 appearances for Pittsburgh in 2024-25, when he went 4-9-1 with a 3.81 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage.

That statistical line explains why the Penguins are still managing expectations, even as they keep him close. Pittsburgh finished 41-25-16 and second in the Metropolitan Division to reach the postseason, but the club’s crease has not been a strength. Alex Nedeljkovic, who entered the year expected to back up, also posted uneven numbers, leaving the Penguins to treat every available goalie as part of the playoff plan.

For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the recall briefly removes one of its most important assets from the AHL roster at a time when depth and development matter just as much as wins. For Pittsburgh, it is a reminder that Blomqvist is already on the short list when emergency duty calls, and that his place in the organization’s near-future crease hierarchy is still very much in play.