Per the Canadian Press, Habs defenseman Andrei Markov has returned to Montreal to receive treatment for his “lower body injury” he suffered after Matt Cooke’s big -- but clean -- hit in the first period of last night’s game.
Markov was in obviously excruciating pain after he awkwardly hit the boards, as gloves and stick went flying as he writhed around the ice. While we’ll likely not get a full report on exactly what the injury was, it seemed as if he injured his right leg as he slammed into the boards. While speculating is likely going to get us nowhere near the actual injury, it seemed as though Markov could have suffered a tendon injury in his knee from the hard collision.
The hit was a bit behind the play as Cooke finished his check, which explains the melee that ensued as the entire Habs team on the ice went after the NHL’s resident villain. It was a completely clean hit -- this time -- but when you see one of your top players down on the ice and Cooke skating away, it’s easy to see how the Canadiens would be a bit angry.
Normally I’m not a big fan of fighting after clean hits, but in this case it’s understandable.