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Penguins’ Vokoun has blood clot dissolved

Pittsburgh Penguins v Boston Bruins - Game Three

during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on June 5, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Bruce Bennett

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun will be out of the lineup, although there is no timetable on how long.

On Saturday, while the Penguins were in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vokoun underwent a procedure to dissolve a blood clot in his pelvis, as per Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Molinari reported that Vokoun experienced pain and swelling in his thigh following Saturday’s practice.

“The clot was dissolved by the procedure, and the doctors tell us that he (Vokoun) will remain in the hospital for several days,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero told reporters.

In the meantime, Jeff Zatkoff will get his chance to fill in for Vokoun in his absence, said Shero.

Vokoun, 37, is in his second season with the Penguins. During the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, he took over from a struggling Marc-Andre Fleury in the opening round and was the Penguins goalie right through to the Eastern Conference final.

This is not the first time Vokoun has dealt with blood clots.

Earlier in his career, the Associated Press reported in a 2006 article that he underwent testing at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, was on blood thinners for three months and that the blood clots resulted from a childhood accident.

"(2006 was very disappointing that I didn’t get to play, but I was more worried if I was ever going to be playing again, and if I’m going to be healthy and living,” Vokoun told the National Post in May.

“At the moment, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had massive blood clots behind my abdominal wall, which you know, when they found them, they didn’t know if it was a tumor or whatever. I was more worried about that than if I would play again.”

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