The Pittsburgh Penguins kept an eye on Kris Letang and his time on ice in his first game back.
PITTSBURGH - In his first game back in the lineup less than two weeks after suffering a stroke, Kris Letang led the Pittsburgh Penguins in time on ice.
Hitting 22:14 for Letang is nothing new, but given he was returning from the second stroke of his life, maybe the Penguins would ease him back into those kind of minutes.
That obviously didn’t hold as Letang played over eight minutes in the first period alone.
Letang played in 25 shifts throughout the game and seemed to be back to game speed after his five-game absence.
According to Letang and head coach Mike Sullivan, Letang’s condition was being monitored throughout the game.
“Me and Todd [Reireden] kept track of how I felt,” Letang said. “I felt good during the game.”
Sullivan slotted Letang in on the second line with P.O. Joseph behind Marcus Pettersson and Jeff Petry, thinking that may be a way to subtly bring Letang up to speed.
“We were going to see how it goes,” Sullivan said. “We would communicate with him as the game went on. He was assuring everyone that he felt great. We made decisions accordingly.”
Letang said that before he could be cleared to return for game play he had to clear some tests and regulations.
“When I started feeling better I ramped up the intensity in practice,” Letang said. “There was a couple of things we had to wait on. Like blood tests stuff like that, just to make sure I can go in to contact.”
The veteran defenseman isn’t usually known for his physical play, but Letang also led the team in hits in his return game with seven.
Sullivan and the Penguins made clear from the announcement of the diagnosis that Letang’s health was a priority; Sullivan echoed that statement again following Letang’s return.
“Some people may have questions,” Sullivan said. “These people know way more about it than we do. Kris’ health, first and foremost, is the utmost priority.”
With the trust in the Penguins medical team, the return to form may have seemed fast, but Letang being given the green light to get back to his usual game.
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