NHL Notes : Malarchuk May Return for Playoffs

Barely 12 hours after suffering a gash in his neck that nearly severed his external jugular vein and may have threatened his life, Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk was able to sit in his bed at Buffalo General Hospital Thursday and conduct interviews. “I feel lucky to be alive,” he told reporters before emotion overcame him.

Malarchuk was injured by the skate of St. Louis Blues forward Steve Tuttle Wednesday night during a goal-mouth scramble, causing blood to spurt from a cut in his neck that was six inches long.

He said he told trainer Jim Pizzutelli: “�It’s my jugular vein that’s cut and I’ve got three minutes.’ I don’t know why three minutes. I’ve heard that. I thought that’s what I had. When they got me into the dressing room, I said, �I’ve got 2 1/2 now.”’

In addition to nearly severing the jugular vein, Malarchuk suffered a severed muscle on the right side of his neck. He underwent exploratory surgery Wednesday night and again Thursday. He is expected to recover fully, and he might be back in time for the playoffs.

Unlike most goalies, Malarchuk doesn’t wear a protective collar or chin flap. Those safeguards, however, might have been useless in preventing the injury, which occurred when Tuttle was upended by Uwe Krupp and his feet flew into the air. Tapes of the incident were horrifying yet compelling, and it’s a miracle Malarchuk escaped without suffering a more serious injury.

A group of agents trying to unseat Alan Eagleson as executive director of the NHL Players’ Association has been presenting its case to players lately, but the agents are not getting an overwhelming reception. One of their platforms is a limit on the number of European players allowed in the league, and that’s not going over well. “I thought it was inappropriate,” said David Shaw, the New York Rangers’ player representative.

The group, which is led by Rich Winter and Ron Salcer, is also promising higher salaries. But where would the money come from? The NHL’s television rights fees are minuscule compared with the other major sports, and if the money doesn’t come from there, it would have to come from fans’ pockets. This whole venture looks like a long shot.

It’s one of the rites of spring: The Pittsburgh Penguins do everything wrong as playoff time approaches. They usually back out of contention, but this season were fortunate enough to have the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders fare even worse, enabling them to earn their first playoff berth since 1982.

The Penguins are 4-12-2 in their past 18 games and have not earned a point against a team that’s .500 or better since they held on for a 6-6 tie with Detroit Feb. 23. Their previous victory over a team that’s above .500 was on Feb. 14, a 7-3 decision over Buffalo. Their wins since have been against the Devils (twice), Winnipeg and Chicago. “We have to regroup pretty quick and try to learn to play together because we don’t do that very well,” a frustrated Mario Lemieux told The Pittsburgh Press. “After six, seven months, you should be able to play together as a team. Any good team, that’s what they normally do.”

Just how good they are will be proven in the next week. “We’ve been on the downside in this organization for a long time,” Rob Brown said. “There’s no way we want to end a great year the way we’re playing right now.”

The Toronto Maple Leafs think enough of Wendel Clark to pay for his therapist, Chris Broadhurst, to travel to road games in order to treat Clark’s back. Clark missed a calendar year’s worth of play but has played well enough to collect seven goals and 11 points in 10 games since his return.

The Detroit Red Wings gave Steve Yzerman time off this week for good behavior. Faced with a five-day gap in the schedule, team executives sent Yzerman to Florida for sun and fun. It was a well-earned rest for Yzerman, who had a serious knee injury last season but hasn’t missed a game this season and leads Detroit with 148 points.

Defenseman Rod Buskas, who has been with the Penguins since 1982-83, on playing in his first playoff series: “I’ve been around here quite a few years and this is a great feeling, to know there’s another season after April 2nd this year.”