Is it possible that Justin Williams could return for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs? It seems so. Terry Murray said Williams will be evaluated tonight and that if all goes well, Williams might only be days away from a return. Williams suffered a dislocated shoulder on March 21, and the initial estimate had him missing at least four weeks, which would have made for a best-case-scenario return date of April 18. Now, it seems as though the return date might be moved up by a few days. The Kings will start their first-round series on either Wednesday (April 13) or Thursday (April 14). According to Murray, if the results of Williams’ strength test are good, the doctors will communicate with Williams about the scenarios for his return. Williams would play with a harness and would still be at risk of re-injury.
MURRAY: “(The conversation would be,) `If you go and play, here’s what the consequences could be.’ As long as you know that going in, and you can deal with it, I think there’s a possibility that he could get himself ready to play.”
Question: Would you want to get him into a couple full-contact practices first?
MURRAY: “I wouldn’t mind leaving that to the game, the contact situations and the compete situations. His skating is starting to come back. There’s been quite a bit of hard skating in the last several days. If that’s in place, then I wouldn’t really want to risk some kind of a drill that might put him in a vulnerable situation. I’d like to see him just go play. He’s a skilled player, can do a lot of good things for us, and it would be important to have him in the lineup.”
Question: So it’s not unreasonable to think he might return for the first game of the playoffs…
MURRAY: “No, absolutely not. His last testing with the doctor, a week ago, was very good, very good. He continues to go through the same process off the ice, with his rehab. All you’re trying to do is re-tighten those muscles, so that it gives you as close to 100-percent strength as possible. Once it gets there, again, there’s always going to be consequence. Even if you’re 100-percent healthy, there’s always a chance that you’re going to get run the wrong way anyway, so that’s the way it is.”
Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? TM doesn’t want him to risk getting injured in practice but playing in the game is okay? JW needs at least a contact practice to be comfortable that the hits he’s going to receive during the game are doable. Whomever we play is going to be hunting contact with him to send him the the dressing room and out of the series. I’d rather have him for the third, fourth, firth etc.. games than the first period in the first game ending in an re- injury. WTF?
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
@fourtunato,
Ultimately, if his shoulder is at or above 80%, it’s as good as it’s going to get. If I understand correctly, Justin Williams will be having surgery on that shoulder after the season no matter what happens. Waiting longer to rehab it won’t make a practical difference. This is only a stop-gap measure so that he can continue his season at less than 100%. I’m sure the doctors aren’t going to let him play if it meant he could realistically do even more damage with another separation. At least I’d hope not.
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Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
@wavesinair, Won’t stop other teams from pounding that shoulder now that they know where to hit him. Hope the doctors took that into account.
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KingsFanFTW Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@Dominick, true but other players not going to try to injury other players in purpose
Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I wouldn’t say anyone would be out to injure him, but if he’s on the ice he’s fair game. Lindros played with his head down. Even though he had a ton of concussions, it didn’t stop someoe from taking him out. It did end his career, but the hit was just hockey. If I was on the other team and had to stop JW, the first thing I’d do is pound his shoulder to wear him down. If he was injured than he shouldn’t of been out there to begin with. That’s just hockey.
Shakes Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
@Dominick,
…and this is why I don’t mind it when teams disclose every injury as being upper or lower body injuries. Fans may gripe about not having full info but it may be best for the player’s health/safety to avoid being targeted.
Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Shake,
I was thinking the exact same thing. If the enemy thought it was a wrist injury and had no way of knowing, they might just try hacking and wacking away at the wrist. Not even attempting to lay the body on his shoulder. Surprises me everytime a fan gets mad because they don’t know what the injury is.
neil Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
@Dominick, if the injury is upper body….you go after the upper body…the same if it is lower.The other team can figure it out….
Ralph Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Dislocations are pretty painful and risky to rush back from- It is the playoffs, but you are really at risk after just a few weeks… The Kings need him, so I hope it all goes well…
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“His last testing with the doctor, a week ago, was very good, very good.”
Wow, I didn’t know about this. I’m guessing it wasn’t reported?
“close to 100-percent strength as possible”
Sounds like he was at or above 80% last week. Very good news.
I don’t ever remember seeing a player play with the harness. I wonder if it’s even noticeable to the spectators…
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mask0425x Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
@wavesinair,
you’ll see it, alright
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.robotoys.com/RobocopF4.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.robotoys.com/st_prod.html%3Fp_prodid%3D1608&usg=__I7TY0k1rhUNHeRR-8adZUOiRjCQ=&h=307&w=300&sz=40&hl=en&start=38&zoom=1&tbnid=-aYBt0uo2ploIM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=134&ei=CdWgTYbBLsfRiAL41Nz0Ag&prev=/search%3Fq%3DROBOCOP%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D911%26tbm%3Disch0%2C600&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=375&oei=AdWgTbiLEofhiAKJ7O34Ag&page=2&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:38&tx=30&ty=91&biw=1280&bih=911
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
@mask0425x,
hahahahaha. Robowilly!
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rontheking Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
@wavesinair,
So this is what Williams meant when he said, “Uh’ll be back.”
wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
@mask0425x,
“I am Robowilly. Give me puck. I will score.”
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Erik Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
@wavesinair,
This is the brace I wear when I play, now that I’ve dislocated a couple of times:
Donjoy shoulder immobilizer.
You can’t see it under my jersey. It basically keeps you from bringing you arm too far up or out, so that your shoulder (hopefully) stays in socket!
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Erik Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@Erik,
um, here’s the link as it appears my hypertext skills are dislocated as well…
http://injurysupplies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=280
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
@Erik,
Thank you! Doesn’t look too cumbersome at all.
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Sounds like an unreasonable risk. Anything can happen. We could win without him, since no one knows what could happen yet, and give his shoulder more time to heal. Risking it now is a desperation move that could take him out for the rest of the playoffs, and deflate any energy his return to the line up might bring, and ultimately dash all hopes. If we wait, we lose nothing and gain more time for Willy. We might go down a game in a series, but considering the alternative, it’s worth it. We might even go up in a series, before he returns.
Nothings for certain.
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
@Dominick,
See my answer to fourtunato above. As I understand it, the strength test tells all in this situation. No amount of time will get it to 100% with out surgery.
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Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
@wavesinair, If it won’t heal any more than it already has then I guess roll the dice. I have never injured a shoulder so I was hoping more time would help. If it doesn’t matter than by all means, have at it.
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
@Dominick,
“Williams…has opted not to have surgery, which would end his season. Instead, he will undergo rehabilitation. Williams said he understands the risks of coming back that way but didn’t want to miss the playoffs.”
http://lat.ms/eUV9ct
I could be wrong but it seems like surgery would have been the obvious right choice but he’s just postponing it.
If JW returns can the harness include spikes on the shoulders to deter contact from the opponents ?
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
@King Doughnuts,
I got a shot of Williams in his harness earlier today…
http://bit.ly/gXNjpu
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Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@King Doughnuts, Something like Rollerball (the 70′s version). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RollerballPoster.jpg
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Great to hear that!!! Bet of luck to him. We could sure use him in the playoffs.
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JW sure looked good at today’s practice. Even though there was no contact, he looked smooth and well in control of the puck. His shot looked great and his passes were crisp and accurate. He will probably get some contact work before game 1. He definitely looked ready to us.
PS: My wife and I came out from Oklahoma City to attend these last two games. After today’s practice, we talked with Rich Hammond in the parking lot. It was nice to have the opportunity to personally thank him for the work he does on the blog. What a great guy, we’re fortunate to have him covering the Kings.
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wavesinair Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
@blugator,
Travel all that way…I hope you get to see a win tonight as Staples!
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Dominick Reply:
April 9th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
@blugator,
Oklahoma Is an incredible trek. I complain because I have to travel from Oceanside. Work does get in the way more than actual distance. Still I’m ashamed that I even complain, considering some travel all the way from places like SaltLake, or Oklahoma. Some even farther.
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The harness wasn’t noticeable during morning skate today. He looked great on the ice; skating, shooting the puck, etc.
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J-dub is a warrior. He tries to get back early every time he’s hurt. With him signing a contract extension, you could easily understand him backing off until he gets 100% healthy but this just shows what kind of person he is.
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Ok, I was reasoning if to jump in with this or not. But since you are reading I have decided to go ahead with it.
What do these names have in common?
Corey Perry
Logan Couture
Chris Stewart
Brian Boyle
Jeff Tambalini
Thomas Hickey
These are all draft choices that we made, 2nd group, and ones that we passed up, first group.
Now the top names aren’t anything that current leadership was on the dime for.
But let me just put this out there, we are currently a very poor offensive team. Thomas Hickey was rated by most scouts as a late first round, early 2nd choice. AS it turned out they were right on the button!
Logan Couture by comparison was a highly rated player that was available for us to draft. And it turned out again, they were right!!
Ok, onto point 2.
Brian Boyle–21 goals
Matt Moulson–31 goals
Ted Purcell–17 goals
My point?
Sometimes it is a little fuzy.
I think that we put too much emphesis on, what used to be called plumbers now refered to as gritty, players and tend to try and redirect, or trade away players that have a different game. Most scorers are not plumers! They need plumbers and playmakers to get them the puck, but they play a different game. Are we trying to convert our scorers into plumbers? IMHO I think we tend to do that!
If Luk came onto this team with his limited skating ability and his “hiding in the weeds” style of play would we keep him? I wonder!
I think that this team is going to get eliminated by any of the top three teams due to inability to score, and I think it would only have been a little better if Kopitar and Williams were not injured. Meaning I think we would have had a chance against Detroit, but San Jose and Vancouver would have beaten us.
We need more scoring and I think management needs to realize that scorers aren’t always “gritty” as we see it. And if a scorer comes along we need to coach them as such…a scorer! Leave the plumbing/playmaking to players that are talented in those areas!
Just MHO
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If Williams does come back and we do not play Van or Sharks in the 1st round, we have a good chance to advance…
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