KITCHENER, Ontario -- The scar hasn't gone away.

It never will.

It will be a permanent reminder of the nasty injury Eric Tangradi suffered in an Ontario Hockey League playoff game this spring, when a tendon in his left hand was severed by an opponent's skate blade.

But it's looking more and more as if that might be the only long-term effect of that incident.

If Tangradi, a promising power forward the Penguins acquired from Anaheim in the Ryan Whitney-Chris Kunitz trade last season, can get through a four-team prospects tournament at Kitchener Auditorium this week without any significant difficulty, it should purge any lingering concerns about the injury having a lasting impact on his career.

Tangradi believes these games, which began with a 3-1 loss to Toronto in a tournament warm-up last night, will provide the final test of his recovery, and seems certain the outcome will be positive.

"It's kind of tough to [evaluate] where my hand's at, just playing some open hockey, shinny with guys at home, so it definitely will be a big test for me," Tangradi said.

"I haven't really taken a big whack on the hand yet, to see how the vibration of the stick will feel on it or how a good check will feel. But I'm confident enough to believe that I'm healthy, and that this will be a good test to see where I'm at."

Tangradi played left wing on a line with Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Luca Caputi against the Maple Leafs, and did nothing to suggest that he was particularly worried about his hand.

He got off a couple of good shots from inside the left and right circles midway through the third period, routinely went into high-traffic areas and did not shy away from contact, at one point trading shoves with Toronto defenseman Brandon Manning after a scrum around the Maple Leafs net.

In short, Tangradi played the game he always has, which was precisely what he had in mind.

"I've been cleared by doctors, so in my mind, that's reason enough for confidence," he said. "I'm not really going to think about it too much, unless something happens again."

Tangradi was hurt in a collision with Brampton goalie Thomas McCollum during an OHL playoff series between Belleville and the Battalion.

That injury ended his season and caused some serious, albeit relatively short-lived, concerns about whether the damage could prevent him from living up to his considerable potential.

After all, Tangradi not only has impressive size -- he is listed as 6 feet 4, 221 pounds -- but a fairly refined scoring touch, as evidenced by the 38 goals and 50 assists he put up in 55 regular-season games with the Bulls in 2008-09.

Losing some of the feeling or movement in his hand because of the severed tendon could have been devastating and, until a little more than a month ago, didn't seem to be out of the question. But shortly after the Penguins' introductory camp for prospects in late July, Tangradi underwent a follow-up operation.

"In the summer, I had a little bit of trouble moving my thumb, bending it," he said. "The second surgery took care of some scar tissue, cleaned everything out, and now it's as good as new.

"Since my second surgery, it's been great. Everything feels like it was before, so I'm feeling real confident."

Management seems to believe the same, although Tangradi still seems likely to spend most, if not all, of this winter with the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre unless he performs so well that he gives the front office no choice but to keep him on the major league roster.

"[Playing in the NHL] is definitely a dream of mine, but all I can do is give 110 percent and just play my game," he said. "That decision's really not up to me.

"I'll be happy and play my best anywhere. If I'm in Wilkes-Barre, that's fine. If I get a couple of games in Pittsburgh, that's great, too."

NOTES -- Joe Vitale scored the Penguins' only goal by tipping in a Robert Bortuzzo shot at 10:36 of the third period. ... Goalie Jonas (The Monster) Gustavsson, a highly touted free agent from Sweden who signed with Toronto this summer, stopped 35 of 36 shots. ... Patrick Killeen played goal for the Penguins and turned aside 26 of 28 shots before Toronto picked up an empty-netter. ... The Penguins will play Ottawa at 7 tonight, the Maple Leafs Wednesday and Boston Thursday.