The injury apparently plagued the star “for quite a while” but the 25-year-old played in the postseason with so much intensity that I never would have guessed that he was suffering from a torn labrum.  I have been living with the lingering discomfort associated with a similar shoulder injury and I can tell you that it’s pretty painful and all I do is type for a living.

According to TSN, he had surgery yesterday to repair the injury but it will take about four to five months for him to be ready to join his teammates.  "We all agreed it was best for him to have the surgery at this time," said GM Ray Shero. "Although he will miss training camp and the start of the season, the doctors expect him to make a complete recovery."

I think it’s better to lose a guy at the beginning of the season than the end so it sounds like a pretty good plan.  Hopefully he will able to work around the injury but still keep in shape. 

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: Zuma Press

There were grumblings among many a hockey fan saying that the Penguins were on their way to being swept but, fortunately, last night’s game disproved the gossip.  I would imagine that even Red Wings fans would like to see a little more action before a winner emerges.

Watching the game, I felt like there was a lot less passion than I was expecting through those first two periods.  Fortunately, two goals by Talbot and a great power-play tally by Sergei Gonchar buoyed the Pens to a 4-2 victory.

It was also nice to see netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury, looking a little more stable between the pipes.  He finished the game with 27 saves.  Teammate, Talbot, was really happy for his best friend: “I’m so happy for Fleury because in Game 1 and 2 he got criticized a little bit, but tonight I think he won the battle of the goaltenders. I have a lot of trust in that guy, he’s amazing. If I had a choice to take any goaltender in the league, I would choose Fleury and he proved it tonight.”

Someone who wasn’t feeling the love was former Penguin, Marian Hossa.  As soon as he came near the puck, the crowd erupted in boos and rightfully so.  I hope he wasn’t expecting a warm reception…

Neither Pavel Datsyuk nor Kris Draper to dressed for Detroit.

Game 4 takes place on Thursday in Pittsburgh and I believe that the Penguins will need to win it if they stand a chance of taking home the Stanley Cup.  Even though the series is currently at 2-1 in Detroit’s favor, I still feel that this is anyone’s game.

Post from: Hockey Beat