There's good news on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta. According to a pair of reports, one from TSN's Bob McKenzie, another from Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Maatta avoided serious internal injuries.
McKenzie though, adds that there is, "enough soft tissue and muscle damage to his mid-section that he's likely to be considered more week-to-week than day-to-day."
Maatta suffered the injury on an awkward hit from Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter during a 4-3 Penguins victory on Tuesday night. Maatta remained on the ice for a few minutes and eventually had to be helped to the tunnel. He was taken to the hospital and, though his injuries are not severe, will remain there for the time being.
It was reported early Wednesday that Niederreiter would not face discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety. Molinari suggests that the league gave ample consideration to the hit, and thought "long and hard" before determining that it did not warrant a suspension.
"You never want to see anything like that," Niederreiter said immediately after the game,. "Obviously, I feel bad. It's unfortunate."
Per Molinari, Maatta remains in "considerable discomfort" at this point. The team released a statement Wednesday morning suggesting that the 21-year-old Finnish defenseman had suffered an "upper-body injury." It's likely that they will update his status later in the day.
Maatta underwent surgery last season to have a cancerous tumor removed from his thyroid. He returned to the Penguins lineup just two weeks later.
