from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Pascal Dupuis insisted he doesn't think about his health anymore. There are plenty of others, including his wife, to do that.

After missing almost the entire 2014-15 season because of a blood clot in his lung, Dupuis is able to skate and practice again, and he has taken the ice with teammates the past two days at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“With teammates, being on the ice, being allowed more than myself and the trainer here in Pittsburgh … it's the first time in basically 10 months,” Dupuis said. “Felt great to be out there. Obviously still have to find some stuff with my game. It's August, but there's plenty of time here. Feels good to be out there.”

Hematology expert Dr. Jack Ansell never has treated Dupuis or met him, but he is a professor of medicine at Hofstra-North Shore/LIJ School of Medicine in Hempstead, N.Y., and a spokesman for the National Blood Clot Alliance.

Going on and off blood thinners like Dupuis has professed to do is not ideal, but it's a necessary evil for someone in Dupuis' position, Ansell said.

continued