Penguins’ Letang out for playoffs
PITTSBURGH >> Kris Letang’s goal in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final clinched a fourth championship for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The talented but star-crossed defenseman will have a far different view as the Penguins try to defend their title when the playoffs start next week.
The three-time All-Star will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck and is out 4 to 6 months, rendering him a spectator as Pittsburgh tries to become the first team in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back Cups.
“Right now it’s pretty hard to swallow,” Letang said Wednesday.
Letang last played on Feb. 21, but was working his way toward a return before the postseason begins before symptoms returned last week. He underwent a second MRI, with team doctors recommending he have surgery to repair the problem.
“It was not expected,” Letang said. “Like I said, I was going through rehab. It was going really well. It’s just in the last week that it blew up on me.”
Panthers’ Rowe says he’ll ‘take the blame’
SUNRISE, FLA. >> When Florida interim coach Tom Rowe sits down with team officials to discuss the season and his future early next week, the meeting could be very brief. He already knows what’s coming. Rowe will be let go soon after the Panthers’ season-finale on Sunday, a game that will end a most disappointing season for the Panthers. A team that came into the year talking about a Stanley Cup will miss the playoffs for the 16th time in the last 19 seasons, and Rowe acknowledged Wednesday that he wished he could have done more.
“I didn’t get it done,” Rowe said. “And I’m going to take the blame for that. That’s the way it should be. It’s not the players. The players did everything we asked them to do. I think probably I pushed too hard on certain guys at the wrong time and then that had a negative effect, so that’s something I’ll learn for the future.”
The Panthers have already decided to make a coaching change, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Sabres’ Okposo in hospital having tests
BUFFALO, N.Y. >> Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo has spent the past three days in a Buffalo hospital undergoing a battery of tests to determine an undisclosed illness that has sidelined him for more than a week.
A person with direct knowledge of Okposo’s status confirmed to The Associated Press that the player is in the neuro surgical intensive care unit at Buffalo General Hospital. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“Kyle continues to be under the care of our doctors as he deals with symptoms from an illness,” the Sabres said in a statement Wednesday night. “Out of respect to Kyle and his family, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Wednesday’s Games
CAPITALS 2, RANGERS 0 >> Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored and Washington wrapped up its second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy with a victory over New York.
As Metropolitan Division champions, the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the team with the most points in the NHL, the Capitals wrapped up home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. SABRES 2, CANADIENS 1 >> Rasmus Ristolainen and Tyler Ennis scored and Buffalo closed out its home schedule with a victory to snap Montreal’s five-game winning streak.