Recovering from a stroke, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said his doctors have reassured him that he'll play hockey again.

Letang spoke to the media before the Penguins faced the Canadiens on Thursday night, the first time he has spoken to reporters since having the stroke on a West Coast trip before the Olympic break.

"I'm targeting it day by day," Letang said. "I'm trying to improve every day I come here. I try to exercise the best I can. I see doctors pretty much every week, twice a week to get better. So we'll go from there."

Islanders GM Garth Snow is not happy he lost his best player to a season-ending injury suffered in the Olympics.

John Tavares suffered tears to the MCL and meniscus in his left knee during Canada's quarterfinal win Wednesday and will miss the rest of the NHL season.

Snow said it's a "joke" that the IIHF and IOC can use NHL players without reimbursing the clubs when players are hurt.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has declined to commit the league's players to the next Olympics in 2018, and Tavares' injury provides a talking point for those who want professional players out of the Olympics.

David Poile may not see again out of his right eye after taking a puck to the face. That's not stopping the GM of the U.S. hockey team and the Predators as he returns to work.

"I'm not trying to be a hero or anything else," Poile said Thursday. "This is not a good situation. It is difficult but I have to, and want to, move on. . There's different adjustments that (I'm) going to have to make, but there's lots of people that have lost an eye and they're operating very well and I have to be one of them."

John Tavares suffered tears to the MCL and meniscus in his left knee during Canada's quarterfinal win Wednesday at the Sochi Olympics and will miss the remainder of the NHL season, the Islanders announced on Thursday.

Pavel Datsyuk practiced for the first time Tuesday with Russia and proclaimed himself fit to start the tournament, according to an ESPN.com report.

"Excellent," the Red Wings star center told reporters when asked how he was feeling after missing Monday's opening practice.

The Russians are practicing for the first time since NHL players arrived for the Olympics, and captain Psavel Datsyuk is the only skater not on the ice.

An injury recently kept Datsyuk out of the Red Wings' lineup for more than a month.

The forward posed for a team picture Monday in full uniform before skating off the ice.

The Penguins revealed Friday that defenseman Kris Letang had a stroke last week and is expected to need at least six weeks to recover from the ailment, according to an ESPN.com report.

GM Ray Shero said the condition is treatable and does not appear to be career threatening.

Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya missed a 2-0 victory over the Ducks on Wednesday night because of a lower-body injury, according to an ESPN.com report.

Oduya's scratch marked the first regular-season he missed for the Blackhawks since being traded to the team in February 2012.

He had played in 124 consecutive regular-season games for the Blackhawks.

Lightning center Steven Stamkos will not be able to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Lightning Vice President and GM Steve Yzerman announced today. Stamkos underwent a CT Scan (which offers a three-dimensional view of the bone) this afternoon and then met with Lightning Medical Director Ira Gutentag, who was unable to clear Stamkos for game participation at this time. Rehabilitation with the Lightning training staff will continue and he will be reevaluated in 2-3 weeks.
 
“After reviewing the CT scan this afternoon, Dr. Gutentag made it clear to me and to Steven that the tibia is not completely healed and therefore he should not be participating in game action at any time in the near future,” Yzerman said in making the announcement. “Although the doctor was very pleased to this point with the healing process, he explained that the callus surrounding the fracture site is not 100 percent consolidated, and Steven will not be cleared to play in a game until that happens. It was a pretty clear cut decision, no gray areas at all.”
 
Stamkos fractured his right tibia on November 11 in a game against the Boston Bruins and he subsequently had surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to place a titanium rod in the tibia. He has missed 39 regular season games to this point.
 
“Today is obviously very disappointing for me,” Stamkos said.  “I honestly believe that we did everything possible in order to have my injured leg ready in time for the Olympics, but I realize you can’t force healing. I know, in the best interest of my long term health, I cannot represent Canada in Sochi, as much as I would like to. I would like to thank the training staff for their dedication and hard work and I look forward to returning to the Lightning once cleared by the medical team.”