Penguins forward Dominik Kahun resumes practicing
There probably is no such thing as a convenient concussion.
It’s kind of like cracking your phone screen in a timely fashion or having your hot water tank burst at an opportune moment.
Concussions are bad regardless of the circumstances.
But when a player experiences a prolonged stretch of productive games in which they establish themselves as a worthy top-six winger alongside one of the NHL’s elite superstars, concussions can be even more inconvenient.
Just ask Dominik Kahun.
Before suffering a head injury during a 4-3 home win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 19, Kahun had found chemistry on the left wing of the Pittsburgh Penguins second line with Evgeni Malkin at center and Bryan Rust on right wing. In the eight games Kahun played on that line, he had six points (one goal, five assists).
“Unfortunately, that’s sports,” Kahun said. “It happens. I got the chances there. I did pretty good. It’s bad timing, for sure. But at least there was the (All-Star) break, and I didn’t miss too many games.”
Kahun practiced in Cranberry on Thursday for the first time since leaving the lineup. He participated in a noncontact capacity.
The 24-year-old in his second NHL season had been skating with skill coach Ty Hennes for the better part of two weeks.
“I skated a lot,” said Kahun, who declined to explain how he was injured. “It was some hard work. I didn’t feel actually bad just being out there with other people again. The timing was new for me. But it was OK.”
Because of the uncertain nature of concussions, Kahun is hesitant to target any sort of date for a return to the lineup.
“It’s a different injury,” Kahun said. “A tough one. When you get something with your hand or your legs, you just know what happened, and you know the time to recovery. With this, you never know. It can take a week. It can take a month. Every guy is different.
“I’m still taking my time. I want to be 100 percent until I play again.”
In 48 games this season, Kahun has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists).
Notes:
• The Penguins’ lines and pairs were:
Jason Zucker — Sidney Crosby — Dominik Simon
Jared McCann — Evgeni Malkin — Bryan Rust
Zach Aston-Reese — Teddy Blueger — Brandon Tanev
Sam Lafferty — Andrew Agozzino — Patric Hornqvist
Jack Johnson — Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson — Justin Schultz
Juuso Riikola — Chad Ruhwedel
• The top power-play unit included Crosby, Hornqvist, Letang, Malkin and Rust. The second power-play unit was composed of McCann, Pettersson, Schultz, Simon and Zucker.
• The Penguins will face the Montreal Canadiens in PPG Paints Arena on Friday.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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