Jason Zucker’s second leg after missing 30 games after undergoing core muscle surgery against his former team ended in a horrific way. After an initial period in which Zucker got a nice video tribute from the Savages and also recorded an assist for the Penguins’ first goal, he left the game injured and went down in a heap.
This video isn’t as gruesome as the reverse view, which better showed Zucker’s legs twisting into the splits, but it shows the damage done after a little rehearsal by Kevin Fiala.
I don’t care what you think about Jason Zucker’s time in Pittsburgh. He had an absolutely terrible bad luck with injuries. Unreal.
Dangerous and unnecessary hit by Fiala. pic.twitter.com/t3CEXEAFP8
— 2022 Jim (@SportsingJim) April 1, 2022
Zucker was down for a while but eventually got on and off the ice with help from teammates. He didn’t put any weight on his right leg.
As they mentioned on NHL Network after the game last night, lip reading it clearly looked like the camera had picked up a coach saying a word “bar” to Mike Sullivan on the bench as they pulled sugar off the ice.
After the game, Sullivan offered a brief update that wasn’t entirely specific.
Mike added that he hopes it’s nothing too significant, “but we’ll have to see how he reacts here overnight.” https://t.co/aZAri2baTN
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) April 1, 2022
Sullivan doesn’t often share many injury details, but the team usually announces injuries on a very long schedule, so perhaps it could be seen as a positive that no immediate prognosis was given. If they had any news last night, it would probably have been very bad news.
Then again, it might not mean much that there weren’t many details straight after the game, but it’s at least somewhat optimistic that at this point the team is still hoping it’s not “too important”.
Zucker also had another highlight after the game, at the team’s victory celebration he was named Player of the Game Helm by Evgeni Malkin. Zucker, at least, didn’t show up on crutches and was able to move around a bit when accepting the awards.
Pittsburgh’s regular season finale is four weeks from today, with the playoffs starting next week. It remains to be seen how detailed a public forecast will be released regarding Zucker’s new groin/leg injury schedule. At this point, a worst-case scenario could have been avoided based on the immediate post-game information, although it remains in doubt when Zucker will be able to play next.