Penguins' Bylsma on Letang's return: 'He looked pretty darn good out there'

For the first time since suffering a stroke at the end of January, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang took to the ice Wednesday night. Letang seemed to pick up right where he left off, recording an assist and a pair of shots in 22:30 of ice time, as Pittsburgh picked up a 4-3 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma saw a bit of rust on the two-time All-Star, but that was expected after such a long absence. Still, Letang appeared to be in great shape, especially for someone who's been through such a frightening ordeal.

"At one point in the game, I looked at him and the guy didn't have a drop of sweat on him," Bylsma said, per NHL.com. "There were a couple times, I think it was in the overtime, 4-on-4, you saw him backing up with the puck and he just kind of ran out of room with his execution and just kind of getting forechecked in the corner. It wasn't a play you would normally see from Kris.

"But to me, he's been out a long time, he's been out a couple months, and he looked pretty darn good out there."

For his part, Letang felt he was a little off, but believes he should have enough time to return to form for the Penguins in the postseason.

"There are some things I felt good about, some things I have to get my timing back," Letang said after the game. "Hockey is about timing and, I don't know, maybe it's going to take a week, maybe it's going to take two weeks."

Letang admitted to feeling nervous for his first few shifts and pointed to the fans at the Consol Energy Center as a big motivation.

"If there's something we always say about Pittsburgh, it's how great the fans are. The ovation, it was great. I appreciate it," Letang said. "They were really behind me through that injury, understanding me taking my time and it was fun to see. It was a pretty emotional night."