Kris Letang Update: Hopeful to play Tuesday

via cache.daylife.com

There were outcries, prayer circles, and Tweets of anxiety from Pens fans upon hearing that Kris Letang was not on the ice for practice at Southpointe today. What was wrong with Tanger? Could he have concussion symptoms? These questions would soon be answered because about half way into practice Kris hit the ice. Following some drills with assistant coach Todd Reirden, he joined the Pens for practice.  A sigh of relief was felt all over Pens Nation and judging by the Tweets, everyone was very happy to see Kris out there!  The reason for Tanger's tardiness was a meeting with doctors for the broken nose and potential signs of a concussion from his hit on Saturday by Max Pacioretty.

Upon hearing that Kris Letang was not on the ice for practice at Southpointe today, many Pens fans, particularly those of Letang, sent anxious tweets and held prayer circles for their beloved defenseman. What was wrong with Tanger? Does he have concussion symptoms? Much to fans' relief, Kris made his way onto the ice at around the halfway point of the Penguins' practice. Following drills with assistant coach Todd Reirden, Kris joined the rest of the team for the remainder. Kris' tardiness was due to a doctor's appointment to check if he was suffering any symptoms of a concussion after he was hit by Montreal Canadiens' forward, Max Pacioretty, on Saturday night; Letang was left with a broken nose and a few blood stains on his jersey. 

Following practice, Coach Bylsma gave an update on the status of Kris and if he will play Tuesday. Letang hopes to play in the game against the New York Rangers tomorrow but there was no confirmation by him or Bylsma and there has been no arrangement to recall a D-man from the system.

When asked about his injuries he said, "I feel all right so far. I have a problem breathing, but that’s part of it. I wanted to test it out there, see how I feel after. We’ll talk (Tuesday) with the docs."  Will Kris Letang put on a face shield- at dismay of some fangirls - for his game time return? He said he may wear one "But right now it’s all messed up, so it’s no big deal." Gotta love that attitude by Tanger!

Letang had not taken the ImPACT test (for more info) following the game Saturday but he is schedule to take it Tuesday. On the reason why he did return on the ice Letang had this to say, "We wanted to see how I felt under hard work and see if I don’t get dizzy or anything like that."  Judging by result of the game and Letang's heroic and clutch goal to win it for the Penguins, there did not seem to be any visible or physical concussion symptoms.  

Tanger's answer on how his head is feeling, "There’s a lot of swelling in there, so a little bit, but it’s not an actual headache." If you recall earlier this year from various articles, Letang suffers from migraines, which at times have prevented him from coming to practice (he did not miss a single game last year). That was probably why the press was asking Tanger about his head, maybe to somehow confirm some concussion symptom speculation that the media may have.

I am optimistic for Letang and hope to see him on the ice where I full expect him to play fine, even with a broke nose.

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