While Marc-Andre Fleury is off to a strong start this postseason, the Penguins could soon have a decision to make between the pipes as starter Matt Murray skated for over an hour on Friday and appears to be getting closer to being able to return to the lineup, notes Alex Iniguez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury in the warmup of Pittsburgh’s postseason opener and hasn’t played since.
It’s the exact opposite situation compared to last season where Fleury was hurt when the playoffs started and Murray took over the starting role. Presumably, even if Murray is able to return, it’s hard to imagine that they’d look away from Fleury who has a strong .935 save percentage this postseason.
Other injury notes from around the league:
- St. Louis left winger Alex Steen missed his first game of the playoffs on Friday night with a lower body injury. Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Steen has been in a walking boot since being injured in their postseason opener against the Wild and that he was on crutches on Friday, hardly a good sign for his potential availability in another elimination game on Sunday afternoon.
- Toronto center Tyler Bozak was playing with a lingering back issue down the stretch and into the playoffs, reports Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Bozak noted that it caused him to miss several practices and game day skates although he was able to stay in the lineup for the most part, skating in 78 regular season games as well as all six playoff contests.
- Edmonton blueliner Andrej Sekera left Friday’s game against Anaheim with what’s believed to be a lower body injury sustained on a hit from Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf. Ryan Frankson of the Oilers’ team website notes that there was no update on his condition following the game nor is there a timetable for his return. With Sekera going down in the first period, fellow Adam Larsson had to pick up a big chunk of the slack, logging just shy of 45 minutes in their 4-3 double overtime defeat.