Jason Zucker’s recovery from his newest injury seems a bit more encouraging than his last.
Zucker, who missed games from January 17 until March 31, returned to the ice last Thursday and managed to play just half of the Penguins’ 4-3 win over Minnesota before being injured again after taking an awkward spill into the boards.
Despite not practicing with the team Monday, the 30-year-old winger did skate on his own afterwards.
“I spoke with him this morning and his spirits were really good,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s feeling better. We’ll see where it goes, but he was in much better spirits, he was much more encouraged this morning.”
Zucker, who missed time previously following core muscle surgery, has played in just 32 games this season. He has scored six goals and assisted eight more.
His return to the lineup in Minnesota was thought to be a potential boost to a Penguins lineup that has been searching for more scoring depth on the wings. But that hope was short-lived.
“Everyone was really disappointed for him,” Penguins forward Teddy Blueger said. “He was having such a good game… Yeah, just kind of an unfortunate play, to say the least. Guys were gutted for him.
“But I think now he’s doing better. I’m not sure what his status is, but hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
Down with the Sickness
An all-too-common storyline of this Penguins season has been players missing time with illness.
The Penguins hope that trend is returning.
Three players missed practice Monday with what Sullivan described as non-COVID illnesses.
Kasperi Kapanen, Danton Heinen and Anthony Angello all did not participate.
“We had short numbers on the ice,” said Sullivan, who had to navigate through numerous players being out of the lineup due to COVID-19 early in the year. “We were practicing with ten forwards because we didn’t have anybody else. For sure we’ve got to make adjustments to the practice. We can’t do as much 5-on-5 stuff. We’ve got to be selective with what we’re going to work on and how we’re going to work on it.
"That’s not an ideal scenario, but it is what it is.”
Sullivan confirmed that emergency call-ups from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton could be utilized if the three players are not able to play in Tuesday’s game against Colorado.
In addition to those players who missed, forward Brock McGinn also remained out, but did skate on his own before practice.
Round Two with Colorado
The Penguins lost a spirited, quick-moving game to Colorado Saturday night, and look for retribution Tuesday in a rare home-and-home matchup with a Western Conference foe.
“It was really fast-paced,” Blueger said. “We knew they had a ton of skill, a ton of speed. So we were expecting that.”
That said, the Penguins were a bit blindsided by Colorado’s quick response capabilities. Twice the Avalanche scored on the ensuing shift after a Pittsburgh goal.
“At that time, it’s a heightened awareness," defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. "Obviously we don’t want to let that happen again. It’s something we can become aware of and have a little extra focus after those shifts.”