BOSTON -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik was expected to travel home with the team after being taken off the ice on a stretcher after being pulled down and punched by Bostons Shawn Thornton in the opening period of Saturdays 3-2 loss. The club said on its Twitter site that he "returned from the hospital and will be travelling with the team back to Pittsburgh." During the game, the Penguins said on their site that he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where "he is alert and conscious." It happened in a wild sequence of events. Bostons Brad Marchand was injured on the other end when Thornton came skating up quickly from centre ice and grabbed Orpik from behind, knocking him down backward before punching him. Thornton, dressed in a suit and speaking very quietly in front of his locker after the game, said he was "sorry" for what happened. "Its hard for me to talk about right now. I cant say Im sorry enough. Im sure Ill be criticized, but its true," he said. "I felt awful. It wasnt my intention. I know Brooksie. Ive gotten to know him the last seven years here. I skated with him during the lockout. I texted him a couple of times. Its not what I wanted to see or anyone to see." In TV replays, it appeared that Orpik didnt move after taking the punch. He also appeared hit his head on the ice when he fell. Thornton was given a match penalty. Thornton has a hearing with the NHL. "I hope hes doing all right," Thornton. "I heard hes conscious and talking and Im happy about that." Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Orpik has a concussion. "I think he was out on the ice for a period of time," Bylsma said. "So I think that means hes got a concussion, for sure." Players immediately called for medical assistance for Orpik. He was surrounded by members of both teams medical staffs before he was taken off on a stretcher after about a 10-minute delay. Pittsburghs James Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. "I mean, what do you want me to say? That I was trying to hit him?" Neal said. "No, Im going by him. I dont get out of the way, like I said. I need to be more careful and I guess get my knee out of the way, but Im not trying to hit him in the head or injure him or anything like that." In the games opening minute, Orpik hit Bostons Loui Eriksson with his shoulder near the wingers head as he turned to move up the ice. "I think thats a big reason why," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said when asked why Thornton may have reacted like he did. Eriksson was stunned and went to the bench dazed before heading to the dressing room with a trainer taking one arm to help his balance as he got up from the bench. Eriksson didnt return to the game. Bruins coach Claude Julien said Eriksson left with a concussion and will not travel to Toronto for Sundays game. A few seconds after Orpiks hit on Eriksson, Boston captain Zdeno Chara charged at the defenceman and drew a cross-checking penalty. 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On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins.PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain is on a five-match winning streak without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, though none of the victories was entertaining and the side still looks poorer without its talismanic striker.So there was relief on Thursday when Ibrahimovic returned to training following a nagging heel injury, increasing speculation he could play against Marseille on Sunday, when a win would move second-place PSG to within one point of its bitter rival.Should PSG lose its unbeaten start to the season, however, resurgent Lyon could move into second place with a home win against struggling Guingamp.Here are some things to know about this weekends French league games:___ZLATAN CLOSE TO RETURN: PSG coach Laurent Blanc is optimistic Ibrahimovic may return to play a part in the table-topping clash against league leader Marseille.Ibrahimovic has not played since the 1-1 home draw against Lyon on Sept. 21, and his heel injury has kept him out for much longer than was first expected.Things have been evolving very well over the last few days. Were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now, Blanc said. He has started joining in training and hes been doing some running. He hasnt lost that much fitness in cardiovascular terms. If things continue to improve over the next few days anything is possible.Even if Ibrahimovic does not recover, PSG is well off in the forward department, with striker Edinson Cavani scoring in each of his past four games.DEFENDING CABAYE: PSG captain Thiago Silva has leapt to the defence of midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who has been in and out of the side since joining from Newcastle in January.Cabayes poor performance in last weekends gritty 2-1 win at Lorient saw him heavily criticized in the French media.Although a regular in midfield for France, Cabaye has struggled for PSG, scoringg only one league goal in 25 games.dddddddddddd He has not played a full 90 minutes so far, and was hauled off after one hour against Lorient.PSGs problem isnt Cabaye, Silva said. The problem was the match against Lorient and especially the first half, because none of the players did well.BARREN SPELL: Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac is the leagues joint top-scorer, but he needs to end a barren run at Paris Saint-Germains stadium to add to that tally on Sunday.Gignac has never scored at Parc des Princes in eight previous outings with Marseille and his former clubs Toulouse and Lorient.The France forward has made his best start to a domestic season with 10 goals in 12 games, putting him level with Lyons Alexandre Lacazette.But Gignac has looked slightly jaded in his last two games, failing to score in the 1-0 loss at Lyon and the 2-1 home win against Lens.Two seasons ago, he scored two superb goals as Marseille drew 2-2 at home to PSG, with Ibrahimovic netting twice for the visitors.ANTONETTIS RETURN? Frederic Antonetti is in talks with Bastia over the vacant coaching position after former France midfielder Claude Makelele was fired on Monday.The Corsican club is 19th going into Saturdays game against mid-table Montpellier.Antonetti, who is Corsican, held long talks on Tuesday with Bastia president Pierre-Marie Geronimi.The 53-year-old Antonetti started his coaching career with Bastia in 1994, and had a second spell with the club.I need to take the time to think. There are a lot of things to take into consideration and I know Bastia only too well, Antonetti said. Its not an easy situation, and Bastia is the club of my heart, but I will give the directors my answer very quickly.He also coached Rennes from 2009-2013, and had spells managing at Nice and Saint-Etienne. ' ' '