Penguins' Sykora breaks foot

Petr Sykora's return to action was a brief one, to say the least.

Sykora, 32, was re-inserted into the lineup Tuesday night by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he broke his right foot in their 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. 

The Czech winger was hurt blocking a slapshot by Kris Draper in the second period, and is questionable for Game 7 on Friday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).

"Petr Sykora can get the puck on his stick and shoot it in the net," Penguins rookie head coach Dan Bylsma told reporters following Tuesday's win. "Turns out tonight he can block the shot and get it out, as well.

"That is why Petr played. To get that one chance to shoot the puck, but he added in other ways tonight."

It marked Sykora's first action since May 4 and, though hobbled by the blocked shot, he didn't skip a single shift.

"Obviously, Sykora hasn't played much but he had that real big blocked shot in the second period, which might have seemed like a little thing to a lot of people, but it really got the whole bench going and provided a lot of energy for us," said Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik, who had a team-high six blocked shots in the win.

Sykora, who logged 6½ minutes in ice time, had been struggling offensively, scoring twice in his final 17 regular-season games and earning just one assist in six post-season games before being benched in favour of Miroslav Satan. 

"Everybody was talking about my shot, but I went into the game with a different mindset," Sykora said. "I kind of watched what role Miro had and I wanted to fill in that role.

"I wanted to make sure I did things right. I knew I wasn't going to play much and I didn't.

"I just wanted to, in any way possible, bring something positive. Back check, soft chip or something good for our team.

"It came with the blocked shot. To me that felt better than scoring a goal — almost."

Sykora has proven productive in two seasons with Pittsburgh, posting 53 goals and 56 assists for 109 points in 157 games.

Drafted 18th overall by New Jersey in 1995, he has compiled 300 goals and 674 points in 921 games with the Devils, Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Penguins.