Chinakhov scored a goal in Monday's 5-4 loss to the Mammoth.
Chinakhov missed the previous two games, and he had gone five contests without a point prior to his lower-body injury. He returned to the lineup and got into a top-line role, and the goal is a good sign he's feeling better. The 25-year-old winger has added 14 shots on net and a minus-2 rating over eight appearances this season. He broke out in 2025-26 with 42 points across 72 regular-season outings between Pittsburgh and Columbus, so he has some work to do to get back to that kind of scoring pace.