PITTSBURGH (AP) – John LeClair returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup Thursday night after missing three games with several broken bones in his right cheekbone.
LeClair was struck by a puck just below his right eye during the team’s pregame skate Saturday in Boston. The Penguins listed him as being out indefinitely as late as Wednesday, when they finished a five-game road trip by losing 5-0 in Atlanta.
LeClair played Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens with a full plastic face shield, and not the protective visor many players now wear. Previously, the team said that it would not know how long LeClair would be out until the swelling went down in his face.
LeClair received medical clearance to play, and was told it was a matter of how well he could tolerate the pain associated with the injury.
The 36-year-old LeClair, a former All-Star with the Philadelphia Flyers, had four goals in the four games before getting hurt. In his first 13 games this season, LeClair had five goals and five assists.
AP-ES-11-10-05 2009EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.