Jason Zucker hasn't had the greatest luck this season when it comes to injuries, to say the least.
Zucker appeared in just 41 of the Penguins' 82 regular-season games, missing exactly half of the season. He was sidelined for a month starting in mid-December with a sports hernia before returning for one game on Jan. 17 in Las Vegas. He was sidelined again after that game with the same nagging injury before undergoing core muscle repair surgery on Jan. 25. Zucker made his return from surgery on March 31 in Minnesota, but was injured by a shove from behind in the game that aggravated his previous injury and sidelined him for nine more days.
When Zucker met with reporters following the Penguins' morning skate at PPG Paints Arena on Monday, he called it the "toughest year of my career" from an injury standpoint.
"Feeling great, come back, re-injured, feel great again, come back, injury," Zucker said of the way his season has gone. "It just seems like it's been nonstop for me. But that's the way it goes. And I'm not the first guy that's gone through this. And I'm not the last guy that will as well. So for me, it's about mentally staying in it and making sure that I was doing everything I could to come back and help this team any way possible."
Zucker's latest injury was sustained on April 26 in a game against the Oilers. Mike Sullivan called it a "lower-body injury" at the time, and it wasn't clear how he may have sustained the injury or what the injury may have been.
After being classified as a "game-time decision" for Game 2 of the Penguins' first-round series in New York, Zucker got back into the lineup for Game 3 on Saturday, a 7-4 victory to give the Penguins a 2-1 series lead.
Zucker didn't want to get into specifics Monday regarding the nature of that injury, and whether it is or isn't related to his previous core muscle surgery. He did disclose that he felt a little worn out as the game went on in his return, though.
"I thought the first period, I felt really good," Zucker said. "I got a little bit gassed later on, that's kind of expected as you come back and get back into the swing of things. But overall, I thought that it was a good first one for me. But I've got to follow it up tonight and come back and be good."
Zucker returned on the third line alongside Jeff Carter and Brock McGinn, and had a pretty solid game in his return. He played 13:11 in the win, recording three shots on goal. He led the Penguins with seven hits, surpassing his previous season-high total of five. He was physical early, with four of those seven hits coming in the first period.
"I wanted to make sure I made an impact on the game in any way," Zucker said of that physicality. "You know, typically when you're coming in late into a series or into even the season in general, you're trying to get the rhythm of the game back. And for me, getting a couple of hits, getting into the game mentally is the best way to do it."
Sullivan called Zucker a "big part of the game," and that physicality was one of the big reasons for that being the case.
"He brought us a lot of energy," Sullivan said. "He obviously plays the game with with an edge, he brings a certain level of physicality to our team. He helps us get momentum. ... He has a game that's conducive to playoff hockey."
When Zucker made a quick return last month following his injury in Minnesota, Carter said at the time with a smile that Zucker "seems to have a high pain tolerance," given how soon he was back on the ice.
This time of year, Zucker doesn't think he's the only guy on the ice that's playing through a little bit of pain. And it's the drive to help the team make a deep playoff run that has him and other players continuing to battle through it.
"Nobody's 100 percent healthy, especially come playoff time," Zucker said. "You know, you're always trying to play through something. For me it's just the joy of being out there and just wanting to play games. For me, if I have to play through some pain then so be it. I'll just go play some hockey and try to win some games."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• With Sunday being an off day, Monday was a rare full morning skate. The lines and pairings remained unchanged from last game:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Kasperi Kapanen
Jason Zucker - Jeff Carter - Brock McGinn
Brian Boyle - Teddy Blueger - Evan Rodrigues
Mike Matheson - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
Mark Friedman - Chad Ruhwedel
• The power play units also remained unchanged. The top unit was Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust
The second power play unit was Mike Matheson, Evan Rodrigues, Danton Heinen, Carter, Zucker (with Kasperi Kapanen rotating in)
• Rickard Rakell joined the skate in a non-contact jersey, the first time he's skated with the team since he was injured in Game 1. He rotated in the drills along with extra players Nathan Beaulieu and Drew O'Connor.
• Tristan Jarry skated on his own before the skate for the third time, after having a scheduled day off on Sunday. He took some lighter shots toward the end from goaltending coach Andy Chiodo.
• Brian Dumoulin has yet to skate since suffering a lower-body injury sometime in Game 1. His status remains unchanged, Sullivan said.
• Sullivan on the Penguins' power play, which is 2-for-10 in this series so far: "The coaching staff can help in that regard. We're certainly trying to do our part to help these guys have success. We're sharing the insights that we have and the observations that we have, we're trying to give them a game plan that sets them up for success. This is a collective effort from both the players and the coaches, and we're doing everything we can to help these guys, but we believe in them. They're talented players. We believe that they'll get it together and execute. When they do, they're certainly going to help us have success."
• Defenseman Ryan Lindgren participated in the morning skate for New York after being sidelined the last two games following a Game 1 hit from Kapanen. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant called Lindgren a "game-time decision," but it looks like Lindgren might not be ready to return just yet. He's typically paired on the top pairing alongside Adam Fox, but it was K'Andre Miller up on that spot in the morning skate. Lindgren skated on an extra fourth defense pairing with Libor Hajek, who has yet to play this series.
• Gallant said on his off-day availability on Sunday that the crowd was one of the factors that went into yanking Igor Shesterkin after the first period.
"I think the first two goals were lucky," he said. "And the crowd was going crazy, everything was going against us. There were some unlucky bounces and breaks, and I thought it was 4-1, why not shake it up."
Gallant said that he's expecting a bounce-back game from Shesterkin tonight, even though they don't fault him for the result in Game 3.
"I expect him to be outstanding," Gallant said. "You know, it's a one-off for me. Stuff happens like that. Again nobody's blames him. That team was dominant in the first period, it's nothing on Igor."
• Gallant on holding the Penguins' top line to just one empty-net goal in Game 3: "They're a dangerous line. Crosby is one of the best players in the National Hockey League, if not the best. You've got to be aware of that line. They played really well. And I thought we did a pretty good job overall (in Game 3)."
• Gallant also offered praise for Guentzel specifically: "He gets to the net. He's a skilled guy. He shoots the puck real well. But he drives to the blue paint. We talk about Chris Kreider scoring goals around the blue paint. This guy, he's around the net all the time. He knows where Sid is going to be. He knows how to get open. That makes him a good hockey player. He works hard every shift, too."
• Josh Getzoff and Phil Bourque both entered COVID protocol and will miss tonight's game. Paul Steigerwald and Colby Armstrong were recalled to the radio booth on an emergency basis.
• A note: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton plays Game 3 of their best-of-three first-round series against Hershey tonight. Either Wilkes-Barre advances and plays Springfield in Game 1 tomorrow, or the season ends tonight and a bus load of Black Aces will surely be on its way to Pittsburgh soon. Here's my story on Game 2 yesterday.
