Injury Update

Surprise, surprise.

You might remember after Game Two of the Penguins/Flyers series I said this:

"There is absolutely no way Mike Richards is playing at full strength. I refuse to believe it. He has looked absolutey brutal of late, including these first two games of the playoffs."

Well, turns out I was right. Per TSN:

"Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, according to the Courier Post. "

After Game Four of the Capitals/Rangers series I mentioned:

"What cannot be forgotten is the effort of Blueshirts' Captain Chris Drury. Playing with what I suspect to be a broken or fractured wrist, he was able to notch his 17th game-winning playoff goal after a crucial blunder by Simeon Varlamov."

Make that a fractured hand. Per the New York Post:

"When the series ended, when the Rangers went through the handshake line following last night's 2-1 Game 7 defeat, Chris Drury used his left hand to congratulate the Capitals. That's because, as he told The Post, the captain had played the first round with a broken right hand he sustained late in the April 9 victory over the Flyers in the Garden finale that clinched a playoff berth."

Moral of the story, besides the given that NHL players are the hardest guys in sports, don't bet on NHL playoff games. I went 5 for 8, not that bad for a league with such parity, but worse than I would've liked. I picked the Rangers and the Flyers to win. Had I known each team's captain was playing at significantly below 100%, I like to think I would've picked differently.

Am I making excuses? Yep.

Kudos to Richards and Drury for toughing it out for their respective clubs. It should be noted Drury played the final two games of last years' postseason with broken ribs - wow.