PITTSBURGH – Phil Kessel broke the news.
The Pittsburgh Penguins star walked by former teammate Jake Gardiner in the bowels of PPG Paints Arena and casually asked if the defenceman would be playing tonight.
Yep, Gardiner told Kessel. He’s in.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing Gardiner — who leads all club defencemen in points (35) and ice time — will dress for Saturday night’s showdown between the two hottest teams in hockey.
Gardiner left Wednesday’s victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets midway through the first period with lower-body spasms and never returned to the game.
At the time Gardiner disappeared into the training room, there had been no apparent collision or obvious injury.
Gardiner’s mother called his wife, Lucy, in a panic, and some of the player’s buddies back home in Minnesota wondered if he’d been traded mid-game.
“I made the right decision not playing the rest of the game,” Gardiner said.
“If you can’t walk straight, you’re thinking, ‘OK. What’s going on here? What’s going to be the end result?’ You’ve got to stick with it and try to stay out of your own head.”
After taking Friday’s practice off to undergo treatment and get some rest, Gardiner skated Saturday morning in Pittsburgh and is happy his two-seasons-long streak of perfect attendance will remain in tact following what he calls a “fluke” injury that limited his mobility for two days.
“I’ve never had [spasms] before. I can’t remember getting hit weird or anything like that, but I talked to a lot people and they say it happens just tying your shoe or whatever it is. It must’ve just been a quick movement that caused it,” Gardiner explained.
“You kinda walk crookedly and you feel like you’re 80 years old.”
A healthy Gardiner and the Maple Leafs (9-1 in their last 10 games) will attempt to snuff out the Penguins’ 10-game winning streak at home Saturday.
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