Could Jordan Staal Incredibly Return In Game 4 Tonight?

As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepared on their off-day yesterday for tonight's game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against the Montreal Canadiens at The Bell Centre (7:00 PM EST, VERSUS), there was mostly a singular story worth tracking.

Just 4 days after having a foot tendon sliced in a freak accident -- and facing the prospect of his season ending prematurely as a result -- there was Pittsburgh center and Selke Trophy finalist Jordan Staal fully participating in the Penguins' one-hour optional skate yesterday morning, and readying himself for a miraculous possible return in this series, perhaps as early as game 4 tonight.

This, after skating for the first time for 5-10 minutes the day before, just 3 days after the accident last Friday and resulting surgery the same night.

Whoever said that Penguins' head coach Dan Bylsma -- who defied common belief the day after the injury when he said Staal was day-to-day -- enjoys misleading the media on the status of his players?

In Staal's case, he may have actually been telling the real story.

Of course, NHL playoff history is littered with courageous instances of players playing through significant injuries, but Staal's return to the ice after his meaningful injury has been nothing short of stunning. Strangely enough, though -- to hear him tell it -- dealing with his injury was hardly different than cutting his finger back on his family's sod farm in Ontario:

"I went straight to the hospital, had a little surgery, went home, and had a good sleep," Staal said yesterday.

Here are some other pieces on Staal's potential return:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10126/1055971-61.stm

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Surgery+stop+ironman+Staal/2992907/story.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=5166411

Needless to say, getting Staal back in the lineup as early as tonight would be a major boost to a team that could put a strangehold on it's series with the Canadiens by winning tonight.

While Montreal overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the powerhouse top-seeded Washington Capitals in the first round, they would have to make NHL history by doing it in consecutive playoff rounds, so expecting that result is probably unlikely. And that should make the Habs a dangerous, focused opponent tonight.

For their part, the Penguins will need to match that intensity -- that want-to. They've been such a strong team on the road this year, so they certainly won't retreat from the challenge. And if this is the game that Sidney Crosby ramps up his offensive production in this series, Montreal is going to have their hands full.

Recap tomorrow.

Let's Go Pens!


NOTES:

Bylsma continued to be mum about the status of RW Bill Guerin -- who missed game 3 on Tuesday night -- saying that he may or may not take the morning skate today, and would again be a game-time decision for game 4. Bylsma has stayed pretty tight-lipped about the nature of Guerin's problem, but the talk circulating is that he may just be ill. I don't really buy that, and from what I know, he's more likely to have suffered a recurrence of the occasional back spasms he's suffered from over the last few months.