Staal Severs Tendon; Will Miss Game 2 And More. How Big Of A Loss Is He?

I still can't figure out whether the news is better or worse.

After Penguins' Selke Finalist and shutdown 3rd line center Jordan Staal was injured on a strange play late in the second period of game 1 of their second round Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Montreal Canadiens, initial fears were that -- perhaps -- Staal suffered a high ankle sprain on the play.

He was seen on crutches leaving Mellon Arena after the game and the fears were that me might miss meaningful post-season time.

For a high ankle sprain, that could have been 3-4 weeks.

Well, he's definitely going to miss time because, as Pittsburgh began preparations for game 2 of their series today (2:00 PM, NBC), they learned that Staal didn't sustain that injury, but instead suffered a severed tendon on the top of his right foot.

As I reflect on it, I can actually see that injury being more likely than a high ankle sprain on the particular play where Gronk was hurt. It seemed as if the skate blade of Canadiens' blueliner P.K. Subban went right over the top of #11's right foot when the two awkwardly collided.

Still, you wouldn't think that could slice through a reinforced skate tongue, but I should have known when I read reports after the game where teammate Craig Adams said he saw Staal's skate laces cut when he got to the bench, and that not only was Staal on crutches, but he also had his foot bandaged.

Make no mistake -- this is a significant injury, probably worse than a high-ankle sprain. A tendon typically might take 8-12 weeks to recover from, so the Penguins are probably best served planning to move forward without him, at least for the near future.

However, Pens' Head Coach Dan Bylsma was pointedy yesterday in saying that Staal was not out for the playoffs. He even defiantly proclaimed him, for now, to be like the rest of us:

Day-to-day.

Despite Bylsma's pronoucements, it's hard not to think Staal may be out for the season. Of course, it would seem to depend on the severity of the cut but, let's be frank. The tendon was completely severed. Staal needed surgery.

That's not a good combination.

So, the question is -- regardless of how much time he misses, how big of a loss is Staal to the Penguins?

Staal didn't have a great series against the Ottawa Senators in round 1, but he was starting to ramp up his game, with 2 points in game 6 of that series, and a big power play goal in game 1 against the Canadiens.

Still, the biggest area where the Penguins are going to miss #11 isn't on offense.

It's in his own zone and on the penalty kill.

Staal is such a horse in the corners and along the wall. He separates people from the puck and sparks a nice transition offensively.

On the penalty kill, his reach looms as a huge asset, and one Staal uses very well to cut off passing lanes and disrupt plays.

I think the Penguins can probably withstand losing him against the Canadiens, simply because Montreal isn't as deep up front. Depending on how far they may go and who they may match up against in any subsequent round, however, Staal's loss could hit deeper.

For now, Max Talbot is expected to slide off Evgeni Malkin's line into Staal's spot to center the third unit, but we'll have to wait and see what Staal's status is going forward before drawing any conclusions about how long he's out and, thus, how long Max may stay in that spot. But certainly, the Penguins have now suffered their first significant injury blow in any of the last 3 playoff years.

If there's any silver lining to the injury situation the Penguins are facing in this series after game 1, it's that Montreal rearguard Andre Markov appears to have also suffered a meaningful injury himself, when legally checked by Pens' LW Matt Cooke in the first period.

While the nature of Markov's injury has not been disclosed, he has already returned to Montreal for evaluation, will not play in game 2 today, and is supposedly out "indefinitely".

Markov is the Canadiens' Sergei Gonchar on the blueline. He plays 25 minutes a game for them, and is their top gun, both on the power play and penalty kill, so losing him for any appreciable period of time could actually prove tougher for them to overcome than it will be for Pittsburgh to try and get by without Staal.

And that's especially true considering who the Habs have behind Markov on the blueline.

Roman Hamrlik is their other veteran, but he has been inconsistent and was actually benched for the 3rd period of game 5 of their opening round series against the Washington Capitals.

Hal Gill and Josh Gorges are a decent defensive pair, but beyond those two and Hamrlik, it gets real thin, real fast.

Suppan remains a rookie, Ryan O'Byrne was a healthy scratch to open the playoffs and Marc-Andre Bergeron is such a defensive liability that they prefer to play him at forward.

Montreal also has Jaroslav Spacek, but he's missed 5 games in a row now and apparently hasn't gotten over an undisclosed condition that affects his balance.

Spacek didn't skate with his teammates yesterday and is not close to returning to the lineup at this point.

Clearly, only the rest of the series will tell whether Staal or Markov is the greater loss.

For their part, overcoming Staal's absence starts tomorrow for Pittsburgh. And it starts first during 5-on-5 play, where they need to be much better.

We'll see how it goes.

Recap Monday.

Let's Go Pens!