NHL teams provided injury news updates on Monday, with the most noteworthy bits revolving around players dealing with concussions. Let’s sort through that mixed bag:
- First, we’ll begin with promising news. Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan considers Matt Murray to be “an option” to play on Tuesday against the New York Islanders. That said, it’s a preliminary viewpoint, as Sullivan wants to see how Murray handles practice.
You’d get the impression that the optimism is high despite that caveat, as the Penguins sent Tristan Jarry back to the AHL today. That could still change, but the team must feel a lot more confident about Murray being ready for the postseason.
[The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs begin April 11 on the networks of NBC]
- In other positive concussion news for goalies, Carey Price is considered “100 percent” by the Montreal Canadiens, though he’s not expected to play on Monday.
Actually, it’s worth questioning whether it’s really worth risking Price’s health in meaningless games for Montreal, especially when you note that he’s frequently suffered from bad injury luck lately. Sure, he wants to play; that ambition is part of what makes him great. Concussions can be tricky, though, and you wonder if the reward would justify the risks involved.
- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba is in “concussion protocol,” according to TSN’s Sara Orlesky. Trouba will reportedly see specialists, which isn’t that shocking considering how shaken up he looked after getting the worst of a hard collision with Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars:
Jacob Trouba goes to hit Jamie Benn and gets steamrolled. Leaves game with injury. pic.twitter.com/qR9lQULbGv
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) March 19, 2018
Brutal.
- Also brutal: Noah Hanifin is out indefinitely in dealing with a concussion, via the Carolina Hurricanes.
Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely.
— Hurricanes PR (@CanesPR) March 19, 2018
The 21-year-old set a new career-high with eight goals this season, and despite being limited to 71 games, he matched last season’s peak of 29 points. Hanifin is starting to show why he was the fifth pick of the 2015 NHL Draft as part of a stacked Hurricanes defense, yet much like his team, it looks like his season’s going to end on a low note.
Hopefully he’ll be able to rebound fully in 2018-19.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.