Petr Prucha, whose 25 goals are 2nd on the Rangers to Jaromir Jagr’s 35, will not play for the Czech Republic in the Winter Olympics, writes the New York Daily News’ Sherry Ross.
Rangers winger Petr Prucha will be sidelined for three to four weeks due to a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, the team announced yesterday after the results of an MRI exam.
The 23-year-old Czech rookie will be forced to miss the Olympics, which begin next week, but the medical news is still slightly better than the Rangers had first feared. Prucha was injured by a Turner Stevenson check in the second period of Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Flyers in Philadelphia. The Olympic break gives Prucha two weeks to heal instead of missing 14 days of National Hockey League games, although even with the most optimistic prognosis he will miss at least three Rangers games this week.
If Team Canada intend to repeat at Olympic Gold Medalists in Turin, they’ll have to do so without the assistance of a Luckie Loonie.