Penguins activate forward Ryan Poehling

The Pittsburgh Penguins activated forward Ryan Poehling from injured reserve Sunday, according to a team tweet.

Poehling had been absent from the lineup with an undisclosed injury since early this month, and he’s been limited to 31 out of 45 games this season overall as he’s been in and out of the lineup with various minor injuries. He has four goals and four assists for eight points in those games, and he’s played decent defensively in that time as well.

He hasn’t had a terribly significant role, receiving fourth-line minutes, and the 25th overall pick in 2017 has yet to make much noise offensively at the NHL level. Still, his overall play has improved from last season with the Montreal Canadiens, where he notched nine goals and 17 points in 57 games.

With Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald still sidelined with injuries, Poehling could return to the lineup and replace call-up Jonathan Gruden. Gruden, 22, has yet to get on the scoresheet through three NHL games and has played just 5:19 per game under head coach Mike Sullivan.

Poehling could play when the Penguins face off against the New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon.