Injury updates/they said it--Jan. 4
Below you can find audio of interviews conducted following the Penguins practice at Consol Energy Center.
Of note, there were some injury updates. Coach Dan Bylsma said that center Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang will be evaluated Sunday, but indications are, once again, that they could return from injury. Letang, in particular, seems close. He called it a "coaches' decision" whether he plays.
Winger Chuck Kobasew, who participated in the game-day skate Friday but not in the pregame warmup and was scratched, has an unspecified injury and is day-to-day, Bylsma said.
Here is the latest on goaltender Tomas Vokoun: He is past the three-month mark, which was thrown out as the earliest he might be cleared to come off of blood-thinners following a procedure during training camp to have a blood clot dissolved. He is still on blood-thinners. That fact means the window for a best-case scenario has closed. Bylsma mentioned something today about the five-month mark, which would be around the end of the Olympic break. Afterward, however, there was a clarification from general manager Ray Shero that Vokoun will continue to be monitored and there is no timetable for him to come off of blood-thinners or make any decisions about this season or his future. We spoke with Vokoun when the Penguins played at Florida in late November (that's where his family lives), and he pretty much said if doctors want him to remain on blood-thinners for a full six months, it would be difficult for him to come back shortly before the playoffs after such a long layoff. As long as he is on the medication, he can work out but can have no contact and can't stop shots. It's entirely possible that his season will be lost, and that perhaps he will retire. What happens with doctors' advice about the blood-thinners over the next several weeks will be key.
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