Patric Hornqvist Autographed Card

Patric Hörnqvist was a game-time decision to suit up for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3 of their series against the Washington Capitals tonight, and perhaps he should have sat it out, considering he laid the game's most devastating hit... on teammate Conor Sheary.

Sitting out may also be something Pens captain Sidney Crosby might want to do for Game 4, given his past concussion issues, after accidentally getting hit by former teammate Matt Niskanen:

Sidney Crosby hurt after taking a Niskanen cross-check to the head pic.twitter.com/T8P3iGK1m8

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 1, 2017

The Pens' injuries were already an issue in the 2017 Playoffs, but losing Crosby after Kris Letang and Matt Murray might be the final nail in their coffin.

Here's Hörnqvist from his days with the Nashville Predators, on card #40 from Upper Deck's 2008-09 Rookie Class set:

He's wearing their former blue and grey home uniform; he signed the card in blue sharpie.

Patric Hornqvist Jersey Card

Patric Hornqvist tied his goals totals (22) from last season two night ago, scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 Pittsburgh Penguins shutout win against the Los Angeles Kings in 24 less games than he required a year ago; he might not tie his career-high of 30 from 2009-10 (then again, playing with Sidney Crosby can work wonders on someone's statistics), but could very well reach his second-best mark of 27, from 2011-12.

Prior to being traded for James Neal last summer, Hornqvist had played his entire NHL career with the Nashville Predators, who had chosen him with the 230th and final pick of the 2005 draft - the one where Crosby went first overall.

In his younger days, he was seen as a bit of a long shot to make it to the NHL because of his lack of speed, but he's worked on it enough that it doesn't look like much of a problem anymore. Like many other players from Sweden, his positioning and defensive play is elite-level, as is his work ethic and team spirit. He rounds those attributes with decent stick-handling and a quick and deceptive wrist shot.

I got this card of his in a re-pack I bought at a Giant Tiger last summer - it was my ''guaranteed hit''; it's originally from Upper Deck's 2008-09 Ultimate Collection (card #DT-PH of the Ultimate Debut Threads sub-set, numbered #123/200), featuring a huge white swatch from a jersey worn in a photo shoot:

It shows him wearing the Preds' blue (home) uniform from last decade.