Pretty lousy start to the campaign for Derrick Pouliot.
Pouliot, a healthy scratch for Pittsburgh’s first four games of the year, made his season debut in Thursday’s 3-2 win over San Jose -- but played just over 12 minutes before getting knocked out with an injury.
And on Friday, the Pens put Pouliot on IR.
David Warsofsky has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as a replacement, and could suit up on Saturday when the Penguins visit Nashville.
The bigger story, of course, is Pouliot.
The eighth overall pick in 2012 -- taken ahead of defensemen like Jacob Trouba, Olli Maatta, Michael Matheson and Brady Skjei -- Pouliot has struggled to make his mark at the NHL level.
After appearing in 34 games as a rookie, he dressed just 22 times last year, and only twice during the playoffs as the Penguins captured the Stanley Cup.
This year, he was unable to crack a six-man defensive unit comprised of Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta and Justin Schultz. Letang missed the San Jose game with an upper-body ailment, which paved the way for Pouliot to draw in.
