CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Several Penguins were playing injured toward the end of the season, they disclosed during Thursday's locker room cleanout day at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
Jared McCann suffered a separated AC joint (where the clavicle meets the highest point of the shoulder) in Game 1.
"It was definitely tough," McCann said of his injury. "But doctors were great here. They made the pain go away, so it was good."
Brian Dumoulin tore his PCL in his knee, an injury that can cause pain and instability in the knee. He sustained the injury in the March 31 win over Carolina.
"I didn't really know what happened," he said. "I kind of woke up the next morning and had like a tear in my PCL. ... I’ve never had knee problems or anything like that, so it was a little different playing with a brace and stuff like that. Towards the end, it was getting a lot better.”
Jake Guentzel injured his ribs in the beginning of the year. He called it a "little" injury and said that "other than that, it's pretty good."
Bryan Rust returned from injury earlier than he would have liked.
"When I came back from my injury, I'd like to say I would have liked to take more time," said Rust. "But I definitely felt good enough to come back. There's obviously little things that bothered everyone, so I definitely think there aren't any excuses."
More from the cleanout day:
• Sidney Crosby will not be playing for Canada in the IIHF World Championship in Slovakia, which begins May 10. Matt Murray said he wasn't sure if he was supposed to talk about whether or not he was, which makes it sound like he is. Teddy Blueger is a possibility for Latvia. Evgeni Malkin did not speak to the media Thursday, but a social media post from his wife implies that they are heading to the tournament.
• Some of the Black Aces did make it into town before the end of the season. Juuso Riikola and Alex D'Orio, at the very least, were hanging around the Lemieux Complex.
• Nick Bjugstad's pregnant wife was induced just before Game 4, and had their baby girl, Lyla, the morning after the loss.
"He handled it awesome," McCann said of Bjugstad. "He was such a professional about it. Baby Lyla is here now and it's definitely going to be something to remember."
• Rust, Erik Gudbranson, Casey DeSmith, and Garrett Wilson are all getting married this summer.
"That's probably No. 1 on the docket," Gudbranson said of his impending wedding when asked of his offseason plans. "Gotta get that process going, I'm excited for it."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
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Penguins' locker cleanout, Cranberry, Pa., April 18, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS[/caption]
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