After seeing Daniel Alfredsson leave Game 2 against the Rangers with an apparent head injury thanks to Carl Hagelin’s errant elbow, it was hard to imagine we’d see him back in time for Game 3. As it was, Alfredsson didn’t skate with the team yesterday at practice and wasn’t even in the building for it.
A funny thing happened this morning in Ottawa as Alfredsson was on the ice for the team’s morning skate. Renaud Lavoie of RDS reports that Alfredsson will be a game-time decision for tonight’s game. Meanwhile, Alfredsson confirmed for reporters that he did, indeed, suffer a concussion from Hagelin’s elbow.
Say what you will about how to handle player’s with a concussion, but Alfredsson has been through that routine once this year and you’d have to assume he would know how his body handles things best. Then again, he might just be doing the captain-like thing and shrugging off injury to help the team win. If Alfredsson plays, there’s little doubt all eyes will be on him to see how he handles the game.
What will be curious to see is if the Rangers will appeal Hagelin’s suspension before tonight’s game. The Rangers have the right to do that and with Alfredsson being this close to returning to action, the Rangers might have a case to have his suspension reduced. Since injury was taken into account for Hagelin’s ban, seeing Alfredsson return for the next game would give him a good argument to return.