Penguins/NHL
Penguins – Rangers Off Day Buzz
Will Game 2 see Marc Andre Fleury vs Henrik Lundqvist or will it be the battle of the backups again?
From the Rangers side, there is confidence of Lundqvist being fine and able to play, unless a visit to an eye specialist in Pittsburgh this afternoon gives Ranger doctors some news they don’t expect.
“He’s [Henrik Lundqvist] been checked by our doctors but at this time, we don’t feel that it’s anything too serious,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “There’s a little bit of swelling in and around the eye, so he’s going to see another specialist this afternoon.”
Vigneault said the call up of AHL goaltender Magnus Hellberg was just a precaution.
“It’s in case we get some bad news tomorrow,” Vigneault said. “At this time, we don’t feel that way, it’s just a matter of where the injury is and being on the safe and making sure everything’s all right.”
For the Penguins, they have not only jumped out to a 1-0 series behind their No. 3 goaltender, today was another day of positive developments on the injury front.
While just an optional practice, it was the first practice Evgeni Malkin has participated in since injured after being on the ice for individual workouts over the last week.
Malkin in the fifth week of what has now been deemed more of a five week injury than eight weeks following his latest checkup last week, expressed confidence of returning to the lineup at some point in the series but would not put a timeline on it.
The next step is Malkin participating in a full-team practice on Friday which he hopes to do. A positive sign for Malkin, he has shown increased velocity with his shot, notably his slap shot through the past couple sessions, according to observers.
On returning at some point during the series?
“Oh yeah [hide], think so,” Malkin said. “I don’t know when but soon as possible.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan also expressed optimism of Malkin returning this series, with lots of talk in the organization in the last little while of Malkin having a legitimate chance of playing when the series shifts to New York.
“We’re a better team when he’s in the lineup,” Sullivan said of Malkin.
The Penguins are 19-5-1 this season without Evgeni Malkin (excluding Flyers loss when Crosby, Letang didn’t play).
A big topic with Malkin’s pending return will be where should he play.
A source says one line Penguin coaches have kicked around when Malkin and Rust are both back, is putting Fehr on Malkin’s right wing to handle defensive responsibilities with To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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