Pittsburgh Penguins excited for Jordan Staal's comeback -NHL Update
Pittsburgh Penguins finally got some good news as medical staff cleared their 23-year-old centre player, Jordan Staal, to make a comeback from his knee injury on Friday, February 10, 2012, which could be as soon as this Saturday, in their matchup against Winnipeg Jets.
Staal went out during their matchup against New York Rangers on January 6, and has not played a game ever since suffering a knee injury, in a contest they ultimately lost.
The young forward has been practicing with Pittsburgh for the past few days but also faced another incident when Evgeni Malkin accidentally struck the player with his stick on his face.
"I'm feeling really good," Staal said.
"The last couple days were great just getting a couple practices with the team, getting the timing back and everything. Things are looking up."
At a time when Pittsburgh Penguins are missing their top player and captain, Sidney Crosby, due to a newly revealed neck injury, getting Staal back in the line-up is definitely a good sign for the team that is looking towards making a major impact in the postseason this time around.
Knowing that his comeback would certainly affect the team in a positive way, Staal wanted to come back much earlier but could not, something which certainly frustrated him.
"It's tough being out," Staal said. "I think that's the hardest thing, just missing the guys and the daily stuff. It doesn't get any easier, that's for sure. I'm glad to be back."
Coming back after over a month, Staal will surely have to control his physicality out on the ice in order to avoid any more possible injuries, if he wants to continue playing with his team.
"He understands how big and strong he is," coach, Dan Bylsma, said. "He's not a dangle in front of you, go around you and through you type of player. But when he uses his strength, he can overpower people."
Pittsburgh is currently on a two-game losing streak and having Staal back on the line-up may compensate for the void left by his absence to lead them to a victory against Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Jordan Staal managed to play a total of 34 games in the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season with 21 points (15 goals, 6 assists) before going out.
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