Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury practiced for the second straight day as he recovers from a concussion that has sidelined him since March 31, but it's not clear whether he will be ready for Wednesday's playoff opener against the New York Rangers.
"I think you can practice as much as you want, and it's never the same feel as a game, how quick it is, how much traffic there is, how many guys around you've got to deal with," Fleury said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "It's something you can't really duplicate in practice. I'm trying everything I can do in practice to get back to the best I can be."
By his own admission, Fleury was not as sharp as he'd like to be. If he can't go against the Rangers, the Penguins have a tough decision. Backup Matt Murray has been sidelined since taking a hit to the head Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Jeff Zatkoff, a 28-year-old who has played in 14 games this season and 35 in his career, would have to make his Stanley Cup playoff debut.
"In a perfect world, we'd love to get [Fleury] in a game prior to this, but it didn't work out that way, and so we'll do the best job we can making the appropriate decision," coach Mike Sullivan told the newspaper.