Philadelphia Flyers centre Sean Couturier says he was playing with a torn MCL in his right knee that would have kept him out of the lineup during the regular season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Flyers with an 8-5 win in Game 6 on Sunday, with Couturier picking up a hat trick and a point on every Flyer goal in the loss.
Couturier told reporters after the game that if it was still the regular season, the injury would have sidelined him for four weeks but no surgery is required.
Couturier suffered the injury after colliding with teammate Radko Gudas in practice last Tuesday, and missed Game 4 because of it. But he returned for Game 5 on Friday and scored the game-winning goal before his five point performance in Game 6.
The Flyers elimination from the playoffs caps a career year for Couturier. He had 31 goals and 76 points in 82 games this season while also being named a finalist for the Selke Trophy.
Despite missing one game in the series with the Penguins, Couturier led the Flyers in goals (5) and points (9).
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