Lindros Making Progress
Philadelphia Flyers center Eric Lindros is making “significant progress” in his recovery from a concussion suffered March 7 and could resume light workouts by next week, team physician Jeff Hartzell said.
Lindros, injured on a check by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, showed improvement in several neurological tests administered by doctors on Monday.
Hartzell, however, said Lindros is still more than two weeks away from playing in a game.
“Dizziness isn’t a big problem right now, but he gets headaches primarily when he tries to concentrate,” Hartzell told Bloomberg News. “His reaction time is still a little slow, too. Although it’s much better than it was, it’s not yet normal.”
Doctors will retest the 25-year-old Lindros on Monday.
If he’s found to be fully recovered, Lindros must still wait another week before being cleared to play and would likely need a second week to get back in game shape.
“If he’s not physically fit, he’s at risk of getting another concussion,” Hartzell said.
In 1996, Lindros’ younger brother, Brett, was forced to retire from the NHL after suffering numerous concussions.
Around the league
New York Rangers center Pat LaFontaine will be sidelined indefinitely until symptoms from a head injury suffered in a game on Monday diminish. … Montreal Canadiens forward Scott Thornton will miss at least two weeks with a broken rib. … Defenseman Per Gustaffson was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Ottawa Senators for an eighth-round pick in this year’s NHL draft.
On the ice
Alexei Zhamnov scored one goal and set up two others, and the Chicago Blackhawks held off a third-period rally in a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night at Buffalo.
Zhamnov gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead in the third when he poked in Tony Amonte’s rebound, then he set up Greg Johnson’s game-winner with a perfect cross-ice pass 9:05 into the final period.
In a matchup of two teams going nowhere, Brad May’s goal with 1:29 remaining lifted the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-2 victory over the Panthers at Florida, extending Florida’s franchise-worst losing streak to 10.
At Detoit, Steve Yzerman had a goal and two assists and goalie Norm Maracle won his first NHL start as the Detroit Red Wings rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3.
Darren McCarty scored the winning goal and capped a three-goal burst in the first 8:36 of the third period that allowed Detroit to overcome Edmonton’s 3-1 lead.
In Inglewood, Calif. Pat Verbeek got a disputed goal that resulted in the early ejection of Los Angeles coach Larry Robinson and scored again in the third period in Dallas’ 4-3 win over the Kings.
Dallas stretched its unbeaten streak against the Kings to 12 games.