Matt Nieto had to wait longer than he would have liked between his first two goals as a Penguin -- 405 days, to be exact.
It's been a long road. After a goal and three assists in his first 22 games as a Penguin last season, he was sidelined by a knee injury and required surgery, then injured his other knee while rehabbing the first one, and required another surgery. After missing the start of the season and then having two games as a healthy scratch as of late, he re-entered the lineup Thursday and redirected a Matt Grzelcyk pass for the Penguins' eighth goal in a 9-2 win:
It might not have been a big goal in the context of the game, but it was a big goal personally for Nieto, who told me it was "a great feeling, for sure. It's been a while, and it was just a great play on the goal. (Blake Lizotte) makes great play to Grz, and Grz finds me crashing the net and I was able to put it away. But just a great team effort all around tonight."
Mike Sullivan said he was "pumped" for Nieto after everything he's dealt with the last two seasons.
"He's been through so much just to get back to playing condition," Sullivan said. "You think about it, he goes through two surgeries, an extended return-to-play process just to get himself back into playing shape and in the lineup. When a guy like him has an opportunity to score a goal, I think it gives the group a big boost, because they know how hard he works, and they know the type of person that he is and and what he brings to the team."
THE ASYLUM
Nieto's goal gives 'big boost'
Matt Nieto had to wait longer than he would have liked between his first two goals as a Penguin -- 405 days, to be exact.
It's been a long road. After a goal and three assists in his first 22 games as a Penguin last season, he was sidelined by a knee injury and required surgery, then injured his other knee while rehabbing the first one, and required another surgery. After missing the start of the season and then having two games as a healthy scratch as of late, he re-entered the lineup Thursday and redirected a Matt Grzelcyk pass for the Penguins' eighth goal in a 9-2 win:
It might not have been a big goal in the context of the game, but it was a big goal personally for Nieto, who told me it was "a great feeling, for sure. It's been a while, and it was just a great play on the goal. (Blake Lizotte) makes great play to Grz, and Grz finds me crashing the net and I was able to put it away. But just a great team effort all around tonight."
Mike Sullivan said he was "pumped" for Nieto after everything he's dealt with the last two seasons.
"He's been through so much just to get back to playing condition," Sullivan said. "You think about it, he goes through two surgeries, an extended return-to-play process just to get himself back into playing shape and in the lineup. When a guy like him has an opportunity to score a goal, I think it gives the group a big boost, because they know how hard he works, and they know the type of person that he is and and what he brings to the team."
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