Three Periods: Dupuis' incredible comeback(s); Maatta deals with tumor; NHL notes

Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s Three Periods column appears on Thursdays. This week’s topics include how Pascal Dupuis came back from a bad knee injury and another scary incident; how Olli Maatta has kept his composure while playing with a tumor on his neck; and notes on Patric Hornqvist, John Moore, Stephane Quintal, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

FIRST PERIOD: The incredible comeback(s) of the Penguins’ Pascal Dupuis

We watch for entertainment. We watch for inspiration – sports, hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mario Lemieux came back from cancer, Sidney Crosby from concussions, Kris Letang from a stroke.

Now Olli Maatta is playing with a tumor that is probably cancerous (more on him in the Second Period), and Pascal Dupuis is continuing his fairy tale of a career.

Dupuis is 35 years old. One of his strengths is speed, and he suffered a nasty knee injury that required reconstructive surgery. Still, he came back with a goal and four points in Pittsburgh’s 2014-15 season opener, his first NHL game in more than nine months.

As if that weren’t enough, Dupuis took a puck in the neck and went off the ice on a stretcher in his third game. He came back the next game and rebounded quickly. Entering Thursday night’s matchup with the defending Stanley Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings, he had three goals and four points in his past three games as the Penguins went 2-0-1.

“It obviously feels great to help your team win some hockey games, help to contribute,” Dupuis said Thursday morning. “But as you know me, as everybody knows me, it’s not about how many points, how many goals. It’s all about winning here. And I think we’re in the process and we’re playing the right way right now. I’m a piece of the puzzle. So it’s good to be one of the guys again.”

It was Dec. 23, 2013, when the Ottawa Senators’ Marc Methot hit Crosby and Crosby flew into Dupuis. Though Crosby’s skate blades narrowly missed Dupuis’ face and neck, Crosby landed on the outside of Dupuis’ right leg. It buckled.

After the swelling went down, an MRI showed a torn ACL, a partially torn MCL and what looked like a tear in the PCL. Dupuis rehabbed until he had full range of motion and had surgery Feb. 12. The surgeon reconstructed the ACL, repaired the MCL and ended up leaving the PCL alone.

Dupuis started skating in June, earlier than usual. At first, he was by himself doing only straight-line stuff – no pucks, no pivots, no crossovers. After a couple of weeks, he started working on his edges – turns, circles. Slowly, he did more – tight turns, stops and starts.

Before training camp, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he didn’t have any sensation on the front of his right knee “because they cut all the nerves and everything.” He wasn’t cleared for contact until the middle of the preseason.

“I’ll need some adjustment definitely,” Dupuis said after his second preseason game, “for me to find my legs, to find my timing, to bring the game I bring usually.”

Dupuis didn’t need much adjustment, even though he lost his old spot on the Crosby-Chris Kunitz line in favor of new acquisition Patric Hornqvist (more on him in the Third Period). Dupuis had a goal and three assists Oct. 9 in a 6-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

Then came Oct. 16. Dupuis was cross-checked in front of the net by the Dallas Stars’ Alex Goligoski. He fell on all fours. He bowed his head. A Letang point shot struck him in the back of the neck. He rose to one knee, dropped his stick, shook off his gloves and held his head, then clutched his upper chest, dropped to the ice, rolled on his back and flexed his fingers.

He lay for a long time, as teammates and opponents looked on with concern, as the medical staff worked on him. He complained of numbness. He went off on a stretcher as the players tapped their sticks and the fans gave him a standing ovation.

Barely 12 hours later, he was back on the ice, skating by himself. Two nights later, he played against the New York Islanders. A week later, he showed his speed and skill against the Detroit Red Wings, gathering the puck in the defensive zone, streaking on a 2-on-1 rush with Blake Comeau and scoring blocker-side. He let out a primal scream.

“I think full speed is back,” Dupuis said Thursday morning. “It took a little while, but I worked really hard at it.”

Dupuis scored a power-play goal in each of the next two games – after scoring two power-play goals over his previous seven seasons. Known only as a penalty-killer on special teams in the past in Pittsburgh, he’s averaging 1:36 of power-play time under new coach Mike Johnston.

He’s earned it, eh?

SECOND PERIOD: Maatta plays with tumor on ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ night

Everyone should have a lump in his throat watching Maatta play with a lump on his throat, even if he is expected to be fine.

The Penguins were to celebrate the NHL’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” campaign on Thursday night. The spine of Consol Energy Center was to be lit purple. The players were to wear purple warmup jerseys to be autographed and auctioned to benefit cancer research and the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The coaches were to wear purple “Hockey Fights Cancer” ties. Cancer patients were to be special guests in seats and suites. A cancer survivor was to sing the U.S. national anthem.

Meanwhile, Maatta was to play his ninth game since learning he might have cancer himself.

Doctors discovered a mass on his neck during his training-camp physical. They ran a series of tests. They think there is an 85-percent chance it is cancerous, and they want to remove it and take it for more definitive testing. Maatta is scheduled to play Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres and then have surgery next week.

He isn’t supposed to need radiation or chemotherapy. He isn’t supposed to miss more than four weeks or have any long-term problems. Still, wouldn’t you be scared – especially if you were only 20 years old? Would you react like this?

“I feel healthy, and I feel fine,” Maatta said in a news conference this week. “The only thing that’s different: Now I know I maybe have a cancer. It’s tough news, but I don’t think it really has affected me much.”

Maatta kept the news to himself. He didn’t even tell most of his teammates. Johnston said he told assistant coach Gary Agnew to keep an eye on Maatta before his first game – and Maatta “didn’t blink.” Not only has Maatta played, he has played well, showing why he was a good candidate for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year last season, even though he wasn't a finalist.

“He’s a strong athlete mentally,” Johnston said. “He’s obviously an exceptional player.”

He sure is.

“Watching a young man continue his life and play the way he’s played is absolutely amazing,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. “It’s amazing that he can still concentrate and continue on.”

THIRD PERIOD: Notes from around the NHL

— Hornqvist has five goals and 11 points in eight games since joining the Penguins. His down-low game seems to complement Crosby’s well. “Obviously playing with Sid makes it a little easier out there,” Hornqvist said. “Try to get open and try to find that place between their ‘D’ and forward. Just try and shoot the puck when I get it.”

— Still, Hornqvist sounds like a lot of players do when they play with Crosby. In some ways, it’s a little harder out there, too. “Obviously you need to adjust a little bit playing with Sid,” Hornqvist said. “You need to make more plays out there, maybe some high-risk plays once in a while.” When Hornqvist says “high-risk,” he means Crosby expects the puck and passes the puck at times when other players wouldn’t. “You want the puck in his hands, like, in the neutral zone,” Hornqvist said. “You want to give it to him with speed. That’s not a high-risk play, but you look for him a little bit more than what I’m used to. You always have to be ready playing with him. He can make things happen from nothing. Be ready to shoot when you get the chance.”

&mndash; Three thoughts on the hit that resulted in a five-game suspension for New York Rangers defenseman John Moore: One, this is an example of why the wording in the “illegal check to the head” rule was changed from “principal” to “main” point of contact. Principal often was confused with “initial.” In the suspension video, Patrick Burke explains the initial contact was made with the right shoulder of the Minnesota Wild’s Erik Haula, but the main point of contact was the head. Two, you could argue it was Haula’s shoulder or upper chest. But most people in the department of player safety felt Moore got Haula in the chin – or enough of the head to make it the “main” point of contact. Three, Haula was vulnerable after releasing a shot. This was nasty and avoidable, and Moore is a repeat offender. He actually was the last player the DoPS suspended for an illegal hit, when he got two games for popping the Montreal Canadiens’ Dale Weise in the Eastern Conference final.

— One more thing: Note that the department of player safety held an in-person hearing with Moore, reserving the right to suspend him for six games or more, yet disciplinarian Stephane Quintal gave him five games. That opens Quintal to criticism, because a suspension of six games or more would have allowed the NHL Players’ Association to appeal all the way to an independent arbitrator, not just commissioner Gary Bettman. It makes it look like Quintal gave Moore just enough to avoid that possibility. But Quintal knew it would, didn’t he? Why would he be afraid of the PA saying he was too hard when critics have started to say he’s too soft (because he hadn’t suspended anyone before this)? Why would he be afraid of an appeal unless, you know, six or more games would have been too much? It made sense to hold an in-person hearing with Moore because Moore had just done this in the playoffs, and he also happens to play in New York, home of NHL headquarters. Why not keep your options open? Why not speak face-to-face to hear his side and also to warn him? Five games was fine in this instance. But if Moore does something like this again, he’ll get more than five games, for sure.

— Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have been outstanding lately as the Wings have gone on a 4-1-1 run. Datsyuk has two goals and five points in four games since returning from a shoulder injury. Zetterberg has three goals and 11 points in six games since a stinker against the Boston Bruins. The Wings will tell you their impact goes beyond offensive production, that they set the example for the up-and-coming youngsters. It makes you appreciate how the Wings were able to make the playoffs last season without their best players. Each missed 37 games. Zetterberg sat out with a back injury after the Sochi Olympics and returned for only two playoff games. Datsyuk played two games after Sochi, then sat out until late in the regular season with a knee injury. If the 36-year-old Datsyuk and 34-year-old Zetterberg can stay healthy, the odds are obviously much better that the Wings will extend their playoff streak to 24 seasons.

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