Joseph Back With Pittsburgh After A Week In Wilkes-Barre

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - For P.O. Joseph, a near five-week injury absence left him in unfamiliar territory.

"It's definitely not something you want to experience but it's part of the game, it's part of sports, so everyone's gonna have to go through it at some point," Joseph told InsideAHLHockey.com after Friday's 5-3 win over Cleveland. "But it was definitely hard, to leave the game that you love so much."

Joseph, now in his fifth season of hockey at the professional level, hadn't experienced a long-term injury like that one that had kept him out of game action from November 4 up until his first game back in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on December 8.

In the first period Friday against Cleveland, Joseph said he was just happy to be back on the ice and playing again.

"It was just getting back into it. I haven't played in a bit, but, you know, I wanted to get back out there for the guys," Joseph explained to InsideAHLHockey.com, adding ,"they've been really supportive for the last week, and everyone's been great here. So I'm just really happy that that one was out of the way and I could focus more on the hockey after that."

As Joseph got more of a feel for game action after the first period, the Penguins also ramped up their game in the middle frame - scoring a pair of goals in short order to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead with Joseph helping set up defense partner Ty Smith for a goal to get things going offensively for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that night.

"He got just got better as the game went on," Penguins head coach JD Forrest said of Joseph after Friday's game, his first game action since Pittsburgh's 10-2 win over San Jose on November 4. "It's been a long time for him, so it's just about getting his motor going, getting his touches and getting a feel for it again."

Joseph played both Friday and Saturday's games on the Penguins' defacto top pairing alongside Smith at 5-on-5 while also getting time on special teams on the penalty kill.

"The process of coming back... this was my first time, so it was definitely a learning experience," Joseph said of missing time, rehabbing from his undisclosed injury and being assigned to the AHL on a conditioning stint. "But I'm also glad that I have the chance to be here, and with the guys here that I've known for a little bit and just to get back into it."

After two games with the AHL Penguins, Pittsburgh recalled Joseph from his conditioning stint just five days after he was officially assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this week.