According to Habs bench boss Jacques Martin, Max Pacioretty could be ready for the start of the playoffs.
Unbelievable? Yes. Insane? Absolutely.
But Pacioretty is a player who has already shown a bionic-like ability to take and recover from severe injuries without batting an eye-lash.
So while he did suffer a a severe concussion and fractured vertebra in his neck—he still has the fracture—after being slammed into the stanchion by Zdeno Chara, he is apparently no longer suffering any concussion symptoms.
As such, the team is saying that he will be on strict bed rest until March 26 before resuming skating. He is scheduled to begin contact drills about five weeks from today.
Keep in mind that this is the kid who was taken to hospital on a stretched after taking a James Wizniewski slapshot in the ribs at the beginning of the month. While rumours circulated about broken ribs and collapsed lungs, Patches didn't miss a shift and was at practice the next day.
Un-freaking-believable.
Here are a bunch of news links about Pacioretty's apparent comeback:
Habs Inside/Out - Pacioretty could be ready for playoffs
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/47562
RDS - De retour en séries?
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/316696.html
TSN - MARTIN: PACIORETTY MAY RETURN IN TIME FOR PLAYOFFS
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=358395
ESPN.com - Max Pacioretty could return for playoffs
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6227636
So what do you think about this kid and the comeback? To much too soon or is Patches really the rubber man that he seems to be?
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Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
2 comments:
I'd hate to see him come back too soon and re-injure the neck, or worse even. Neck injuries scare me, and I'm not a strong believer in "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". As much as I would love to see him back for playoffs, I personally think its "Too much, too soon". But then again, if doctors are going to give him the green light to play, who am I to say different?
Well said Patrick and I tend to agree.
The only thing is that the Habs are known to have one of the best and most thorough medical staffs in the league.
Considering how badly he was originally hurt, I can't see any scenario under which they rush him back.
I think IF he plays again this year, it will only be if he is 100%. You can't mess around with this kind of injury...
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