Jordan Staal Could Miss Remainder Of Playoffs; Penguins Dispute

Ah, yes. The mysteries of playoff hockey injuries. Depending on who you believe, Penguins center Jordan Staal is either done for the remainder of the postseason with a severed tendon, or simply day-to-day (flesh wound?).

Staal was forced to exit Friday's 6-3 win after playing just eight minutes due to an "undisclosed injury," and today, multiple media outlets, including RDS and TSN, were initially reporting that the 21-year-old center underwent surgery for a severed tendon in his ankle and would miss the remainder of the playoffs. The Penguins, however, are having none of it.

According to head coach Dan Bylsma, via TSN's Elliotte Friedman, Staal is simply day-to-day, and not necessarily done for the playoffs.

The bottom line is that we'll never really know the full extent of the injury, or the time frame for his return, until he actually returns to the ice, or the season ends without him playing. That's just how these things work in the playoffs: everybody lies.

Assuming the worst, and he is really done (and, for what it's worth, TSN's Bob McKenzie now says, via Twitter, he could be back next round if the Penguins advance, or perhaps even sooner) it would be a potentially devastating injury for the Penguins, as Staal was not only their fourth leading scorer during the regular season, he's also a vital part of their team defense and penalty kill, logging more shorthanded ice time than all but two forwards in the entire NHL.

Part of what makes Pittsburgh so tough to play against is its unmatched depth at center. With Staal out of the lineup, that depth obviously takes a major hit. Also taking a hit is the Penguins' third line of Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy, which for much of the season was arguably their best and most consistent group. Kennedy is already out of the lineup with a leg injury.

The injury to Staal occurred midway through the second period when he collided with Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban near the blue line in the Pittsburgh zone.




So what do the Penguins do to replace him, whether it be for the short-term or the long-term? They could always put last year's Stanley Cup Final hero, Max Talbot, on the third line, and fill Staal's roster spot with any one of their postseason callups. Those options would include top prospect Eric Tangradi, who played well in the season finale, as well as Chris Conner, Dustin Jeffrey or Mark Letestu.

Conner saw some action in the opening round against the Senators, playing 11 minutes in the Penguins' come-from-behind win in Game 6. Letestu played 10 games during the regular season, and while he only tallied one point, he would give the Penguins another decent option in the faceoff circle (as of now, they only have one: Sidney Crosby), having won 55 percent of his draws with the big club.

In other injury news, Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov flew back to Montreal after the game to receive treatment for an injury he suffered in the first period after being hit by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke.