Pens' Pascal Dupuis Returns To Ice, But Does Not Practice
PITTSBURGH (93-7 THE FAN) -- A frightening accident in the second period of Thursday night's game against the Dallas Stars ended with Pittsburgh Penguins' forward Pascal Dupuis being removed from the ice on a stretcher.
The Penguins forward was cross-checked by Stars defenseman Alex Goligoski and then took a puck to the neck on a shot by fellow teammate, Kris Letang.
Dupuis skated before practice on Friday, but did not work out with the team.
"He looked fine this morning. He did skate a little on his own. He was checked out by the medical staff and basically cleared by them," said Penguins head coach Mike Johnston.
"Anytime you have a teammate like that on the ice, it's a scary thing to see. So, he was obviously in our minds during the game and after the game," said teammate Blake Comeau.
Time was stopped just before the six-minute mark where Dupuis remained on the ice in pain before medics arrived.
"You have to keep focusing on [the game], but it's in the back of your mind and maybe dropped our team in the intensity and the energy." Letang said. "It's pretty hard when you're just thinking about it and making sure he's okay."
Dupuis had numbness in his arm, but gave Penguin fans a thumbs up as he was carried off the ice by paramedics.
In the midst of the incident, Penguins center Brandon Sutter said, "A little scary when it happened, but when he was laying there, he was talking and moving pretty good."
Dupuis is expected to be on the ice during morning skate on Saturday. The forward has not been ruled out as the Penguins host the undefeated New York Islanders at Consol Energy Center at 7 p.m.
Listen to Penguins head coach Mike Johnston's full post-morning skate comments here:
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