Lundqvist game-time decision; Fleury, Malkin remain 'day-to-day'

New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said he needed to see goaltender Henrik Lundqvist practice on Friday in order to consider naming him his Game 2 starter against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After taking teammate Marc Staal’s stick to the face during Game 1, there was concern about swelling around Lundqvist’s eye. Well, he participated in Friday’s skate at CONSOL Energy Center and looked fine. Vigneault said that he’ll be a game-time decision as they wait to see how he reacts to practice.

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Lundqvist said he felt "pretty good" and that the swelling is what's making things uncomfortable.

On the other side of this series, Marc-Andre Fleury, who’s been sidelined since March 31 due to a concussion, also practiced on Friday. There was speculation he would return for Game 1, but the team decided caution was best and Jeff Zatkoff was handed the start. 

Also joining Fleury during the skate was Evgeni Malkin, who’s been out since March 11 with an upper-body injury. “I don’t know if I expect to play. But I’d love to,” he said afterward.

Both were labeled by Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan as day-to-day, business as usual during playoff time, but called their progress “very encouraging.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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