New Jersey Devils Henrik Tallinder ready to play against Los Angeles Kings in Stanley Cup Finals-NHL
New Jersey Devils’ veteran defenseman, Henrik Tallinder, has been out since January because of a blood clot related issue in his left leg, but now as the only remaining Eastern Conference franchise prepares to go against Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals, the player is ready to make a comeback.
Tallinder was cleared by the team’s medical staff on Monday, May 28, 2012, and could be rejoining New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals series, but no word has officially come from the team in that regard as of yet.
"I'm cleared, but it's not my decision if I'm going to play," Tallinder said. "But I'm ready if they need me."
Obviously, it will be Devil’s coach, Peter DeBoer’s decision to bring Tallinder on board, but that could have a number of difficulties involved in it.
One issue would certainly be team chemistry that has developed over the course of the past three postseason series. DeBoer would most likely not want to have to take that chance of disturbing the current setup of players and their positions, unless he is forced to do so.
Tallinder was participating in the team practice on Monday and expressed how he would love to be in the finals with New Jersey, but for now, all he can do is hope to get a chance.
“It’s pretty rough to come in (after such a long layoff) and I don’t think he would change anything now, but we’ll see,” Tallinder said. “Who knows? I’m ready. I’ll be ready for whatever happens. You never know. We lost a lot of defensemen (to injury) one year in Buffalo in the conference finals (against Ottawa). Now, we’re in the Stanley Cup, so you never know what’s going to happen.”
Henrik Tallinder, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, certainly provided New Jersey with extensive defensive depth over the regular season. Picked as the 48th overall player during round-two of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Buffalo Sabres, he finished off his second consecutive season with New Jersey this year.
There is no confirmation whether Peter DeBoer will be playing Tallinder in the finals against Los Angeles, but developments on the issue can be expecting in the upcoming days.
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