The good news for the Slovakians is that Marian Hossa returned from injury after suffering a high hit from Colby Armstrong a few days ago. He withstood the entire practice today without any pain and only requires doctor's approval to play. The bad news is that Marian Gaborik will sit out two games before they close out their round-robin Saturday against Latvia. First, the squad must find a way to deal with the Czech Republic and Russia which would be a tremendous challenge without Gaborik's presence.
Marian Gaborik Expected To Miss Slovakia’s Opening Two Matches
Slovakia's team doctor, Dalimir Jancovic, has stated that Gaborik still has weakness in his right leg and can't fully flex his knee comfortably because of the collision with New York Rangers teammate Henrik Lundqvist that resulted in a deep cut on his lower thigh last week. Jancovic believes he should not train for three days.
Gaborik’s return will be a major factor in Slovakia’s chances especially if they cannot cope with his absence when facing the Czechs and Russians on consecutive days leading to a tough route following the group stage. Luckily, the qualification playoff sees four teams receive a bye and the remaining eight compete for a spot in the quarterfinals which is where the lethal scorer can make the biggest impact of all.
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