Speculation season will be ramped a notch or two now as Montreal Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov took a quick half-hour twirl around the ice at the team's suburban practice facility on Mother's Day morning.
While the team was still trying to absorb the possible loss of shutdown defenceman Hal Gill to a cut behind the knee suffered early in the third period of Saturday's Game 5 loss in Pittsburgh, the sight of Markov on the ice was a welcome one to an already battered Montreal defence corps.
"It's great to see," said Gill's defence partner Josh Gorges. "We want to keep playing and keep this thing going, and the longer we go the more chance we have of getting these bodies back."
One body that appears to be back is Jaroslav Spacek, who declared Sunday that he was "pretty close" to playing.
It was the first time Spacek had spoken with reporters since suffering some sort of illness between Game 3 and 4 of the first round against Washington.
Spacek did not want to elaborate on the nature of the illness, but he said he had far greater concerns than missing a few hockey games.
"I know a couple of players that retired from what I had," Spacek said. "That scares me more than [missing] playoff hockey."
Spacek has been skating with the team for the past week, but never gave any indication he was ready to play, even though he looked fine on the ice.
It's been reported that Spacek is suffering from vertigo, which forced former Canadiens goaltender Jeff Hackett into retirement.
Spacek said the injury to Markov and the potential loss of Gill played no role in his decision to return or not.
"If I'm not 100 per cent to go out there I would never go out there," Spacek said. "But I would say the last week I've felt much better."
Canadiens coach Jacques Martin appears to be counting on Spacek's return because he said the team is not considering using an emergency call-up for Monday night's Game 6 at Bell Centre.
If indeed Gill were out and neither Spacek nor Markov played, the Canadiens would only have five defencemen available to them.
Martin called Gill's status "day to day" but would not elaborate on Markov's chances of playing Monday, saying his return is "undetermined."
Markov began his half-hour skate very gingerly, taking very few strides and doing some balance drills with head athletic therapist Graham Rynbend. But by the end of it Markov was doing figure eights around the ice and, while not going at full speed, did not appear to be favouring his injured right knee.
Gill spent the night in Pittsburgh to have his cut attended to, and he told reporters at the Pittsburgh airport this morning that he hoped to play Monday and that it was "just a cut."
"You can't even really put into words how valuable he's been to our team this year, especially in the playoffs. It just seems like he's built for playoff hockey," Gorges said. "He's been arguably our best player night in and night out. He does everything you could ask of a player, and he does it selflessly for the better of the team. He's the ultimate team player, and his leadership is what shines through the most."
Martin attempted to downplay the situation on his defence, even though it's entirely possible three of his top six defencemen will not be available for Monday night's elimination game.
"When we lost Andrei Markov in Game 1, people were probably saying we had no chance," Martin said. "But we came back, we showed some resiliency and we've faced adversity throughout the season. This is another time we need to roll up our sleeves and be ready for the challenge."
One player that may be looked at to take on an even larger role is rookie P.K. Subban, who has all of nine games of NHL experience. Subban has electrifying offensive skills, but has looked reluctant to use them out of fear of making a mistake. It might be time for Martin to pull him aside and tell him to run free.
"We've used him in key situations and I think he's risen to the occasion," Gorges said. "He's played in high pressure games and I think he relishes in it. He seems to elevate his game when he's needed more."
If Gill and Markov can't play in Game 6, Subban will be needed more than ever.
Pouliot lacking confidence
With his team down two goals in the third period of Game 5, Martin decided to not use one of his most skilled offensive players.
Benoit Pouliot only had one, 22-second shift in the opening minutes of the final period. After scoring 10 goals in his first 15 games in a Canadiens uniform after being traded from the Minnesota Wild, Pouliot has appeared lost in the playoffs, unsure of what he needs to do to be effective.
Martin said Pouliot needs to go back to being that confident player he saw back then.
"He's a young guy that's probably lacking some confidence right now," Martin said. "Right now it's probably wanting the puck and doing things with the puck, releasing the puck too quick. He's got the ability to skate with it, he's a great skater and he's got good strength. It's a matter of wanting that puck and simplifying the game."
