Olli Maatta hopes to finally put health problems behind him
LOS ANGELES – Returning from some kind of health problem has become routine for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta. Too often in his career he’s missed time with some type of injury or other issue.
When asked about his latest health problems, leaving the lineup in mid-November with an upper body injury, and then returning to action again in a 5-3 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Maatta sighed and then smirked.
“I definitely haven’t had the best luck in the world but I don’t really want to think about that,” he said. “I just want to keep playing and keep improving my game.”
It took two periods for the 21-year-old Maatta to find his legs after his latest layoff following being hit into a bench door against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 17. The injury looked grim initially and Maatta went to the hospital for fear of having damage to his internal organs.
Against the Kings, Maatta played 20:09 and scored one goal at the 18:01 mark of the second period. So far on the season he has five points and is a plus-8 in 19 games played. He’s averaged 16:37 of ice-time per-game on the season.
“I’m glad I’m back out there,” Maatta said. “We have to take something positive out of it. We hung in there. We never gave up, but we have to be way better.”
In his career Maatta has missed time for the removal of a malignant tumor, mumps and re-injuring an already surgically repaired shoulder.
Last season he played 20 games and notched nine points. As a rookie in 2013-14, he played 78 games and had 29 points
“It’s tough when you’re coming back after a layoff like that, but he has battled through some tough stuff and he keeps coming back and playing well,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston said. “He was at the top of his game a week or so (before) he was out, and now it looked like he was rounding into form in the third period there.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
