Pittsburgh Penguins forward Carl Hagelin confirmed Thursday that he broke his fibula late in the regular season and it never fully healed throughout the team’s run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

NHL.com’s Wes Crosby says Hagelin claims to have suffered the injury against the Winnipeg Jets on Mar. 8. The Swede played two nights later against the Edmonton Oilers, but went on to miss the remainder of the regular season and the first seven games of the playoffs.
 

Hagelin, now a two-time Stanley Cup champion, returned to action in Game 3 of the Penguins’ second-round series against the Washington Capitals. He missed three of the Penguins’ 18 remaining playoff games.

The 29-year-old was there when it counted and sealed the deal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final with an empty-net goal to secure a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators and the back-to-back titles.

Hagelin scored six goals and 22 points in 61 regular-season contests and added two goals in 15 games in the postseason.

While he says he won’t need surgery, Hagelin did tell Crosby that he’ll “need a little rest, though.”