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PITTSBURGH – Jake Gardiner went through a day of distress trying to figure out a mystery ailment he thought might affect the rest of his season.

He began suffering lower-body spasms shortly after Wednesday’s first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets began and it was decided to pull him at the intermission. Two days of treatment and rest saw the desired improvement and the defenceman was able to skate Saturday morning and later play against the Penguins.

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“I’ve never had that before,” Gardiner said after taking a whirl at PPG Paints Arena. “I can’t remember getting hit weird or anything like that. I’ve talked to a lot of people and they say it can happen tying your shoe. Must have been just a quick movement.”

Whatever the cause, it made it hard for Gardiner to walk and breathe.

“I think I made the right decision (to leave the game). You feel like you’re 80 years old sometimes. There was definitely some (worrisome) thoughts going through my head. If you can’t walk straight, you’re wondering what’s going on. But you have to not get in your own head. It was a fluke-type deal, but it didn’t take too long to fix.”

When he exited, speculation ran from serious injury to whether Gardiner had been taken out because he had been traded. He assures he wants to be with this team, in sickness and in heath, with the way it was playing heading into Pittsburgh, winning nine of 10.

“We’re hot lately and we want to keep this going into the playoffs,” Gardiner said. “I don’t know if we’ll be 9-1 the whole way down the stretch, but we want to play the way we are and the rest will take care of itself.”

LHornby@postmedia.com