If you’re surprised at the prospect of Jason Zucker potentially playing as soon as Monday, you’re not alone.
Jason Zucker is too, a little bit.
Nearly five weeks after he suffered a gruesome injury, presumably to his left leg, the Pittsburgh Penguins forward could return to the lineup for Monday’s home game against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.
“It’s definitely a lot quicker than I expected,” Zucker said via video conference Sunday. “Given the timeline, it was something that’s definitely a lot faster than I thought.”
Just based on how awful the injury initially appeared — to say nothing of Zucker screaming in pain, after the incident — the notion of him making any kind of recovery within the confines of the regular season, let alone a hasty one, seemed sanguine, at best.
During the third period of a 3-2 overtime road win against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 23, Zucker challenged a shot by Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen. As he approached Jensen, their right skates made contact and Zucker tumbled into the boards in front of the Penguins’ bench. His left leg became pinned underneath most of his weight as he fell to the ice.
Play was halted. Medical staffers attended to Zucker and assisted him to the visiting dressing of Capital One Arena in Washington.
“It was kind of a weird play,” Zucker said. “Went out to try to block a shot when Jensen shot it. My right skate ended up clipping his. So it kind of spun me a little bit weird, then kind of went into the boards awkwardly. It was just a weird situation that was honestly unavoidable. After I clipped his skate, it just kind of threw me a little bit off and I wasn’t able to catch myself.
“The second part of that, the recovery has been really, really good so far.”
At that time, there was little to suggest Zucker would make a quick recovery.
Yet, during Sunday’s practice in Cranberry, just a little more than a month since that ugly scene, he was deployed in his customary roles as the left wing of the second line and on the left wall of the second power-play unit.
He participated in practice in a full capacity and offered a pretty upbeat assessment of his well-being. Regardless, Zucker and coach Mike Sullivan each stopped short of suggesting he’ll be in the lineup Monday.
“I feel good right now,” Zucker said. “As far as the lineup goes, I don’t have any updates there. But this was a good step in the right direction, being back with the guys and being able to take some contact and just to be able to be part of the overall flow of the practice. So I thought that was a good next step.”
In 17 games this season, Zucker has seven points (four goals, three assists). Currently on long-term injured reserve, Zucker skated on a line with Jared McCann at center and Evan Rodrigues on the right wing during Sunday’s practice.
Having reached the 20-goal mark in five of the previous six seasons, the potential return of Zucker could substantially aid a lineup that has been pockmarked by various injuries in recent weeks.
“He’s an important part of this team, and we’re certainly a better team when he’s in our lineup,” Sullivan said. “He can help us in so many different ways. He’s a gritty player. He goes to the battle areas. He’s good in traffic. He’s got a skill level. He can score goals. He can help us on the power play. He brings a speed dimension. There’s so many aspects of his game.
“He’s a real important player for us. When we get (Zucker) back, certainly, he’s going to help us.”
Follow the Penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
"close" - Google News
March 29, 2021 at 05:10AM
https://ift.tt/3waiG4e
Injured Penguins forward Jason Zucker close to returning - TribLIVE
"close" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QTYm3D
https://ift.tt/3dnyzdH
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Injured Penguins forward Jason Zucker close to returning - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment