Vancouver Canucks Manny Malhotra Skates before Game 2 of 2011 Stanley Cup Finals –NHL Update
One of the biggest anticipations for the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals between Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins is the comeback of Canucks’ veteran centre, Manny Malhotra. He was seen skating on Friday but the main question is whether
he will play in Game 2?
Although Manny Malhotra was skating on the ice rink of University of British Columbia early morning on Friday, it is still unsure if he will be playing in Saturday’s Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Boston Bruins.
There were also rumours that Malhotra had an emergency surgery on Tuesday but was redirected by Vancouver’s General Manager, Mike Gillis.
"Someone asked me about a report of emergency surgery. It's completely untrue. It's not accurate", GM Gillis said. "When we began this process a couple of months ago we were told by the surgeons there would be minor, minor things that would come up during
his recovery process. He's had multiple, little small procedures throughout this entire time”.
Gillis added that it is not certain if Malhotra will play on Saturday, but he might. He said that if at any time there are any doubts regarding his condition, Vancouver will not take any risks with his health.
"We knew what was going on and he's always been day-to-day to us. It's not like we're counting on him to play in the games, but if he does it's a big bonus for us", Vancouver’s captain, Henrik Sedin, said after practice”.
Whatever the situation may be in Game 2, having Malhotra back in Vancouver’s line-up would be a big boost for the team.
Better known as a faceoff expert with a 61.7 percent success rate in face-offs, Malhotra is also a key defender for Canucks in killing off power-play advantages of the opposing team. Having him back would make the situation much harder for Boston than it
already is.
Manny Malhotra played 72 games in the 2010-2011 regular season and registered 30 points, including 11 goals and 19 assists.
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