It seems as though the Hockey Gods have an interesting take when it comes to dark comedy.
Friday night, Tobias Enstrom took a hit early in the first period from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis which left him in a heap of discomfort. After staggering for a brief moment, Enstrom made his exit stage right, heading straight to the Jets' locker-room to receive further diagnosis. He did not return to the game; a contest which the Jets dropped by a score of 3-1.
Today, what we all hoped was only a minor tweak appears to be something much more catastrophic. As reported by Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press, Enstrom spent his Saturday getting MRI's on his right shoulder, signalling a long-term injury.
#NHLJets Antti Miettinen was back on ice today. Will travel on next trip. Toby Enstrom getting MRI on shoulder. Will be out awhile #bn
— Ed Tait (@WFPEdTait) February 16, 2013
The silver lining here is that an MRI to the shoulder area would not relate to anything in the collarbone region. Bear in mind that Enstrom fractured his right clavicle on October 31, 2012 after a taking a hard hit from Florida Panthers forward, Jack Skille. Enstrom would miss twenty (!) games in 2011-12 which spanned into the middle of January 2013. Friday's injury however could pertain to the rotator cuff, as well as any muscle or joint damage in the area.
Unfortunately, rotator cuff injuries are complex and take a long period of time to heal. This could mean that Enstrom will be sidelined for quite some time.
The Hockey Gods giveth as they taketh away.
For more analysis on the injury, including video, click here.
