The Buffalo Sabres had a worrying moment late in the third period Friday night when captain Brian Gionta absorbed a hit to the head from Montreal’s Alexei Emelin.
You can see that incident below:
Emelin got a two minute minor for his actions. In addition to Gionta being active in the aftermath of the hit, he also took another shift before the contest ended so he’s presumably fine.
“Those could be career-ending hits, so we’ll see what the league does with that,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said, per the Sabres’ website.
Montreal and Buffalo will play again Saturday night, so if the league does want to offer any supplemental discipline, it will have to do so swiftly. Regardless of what the league decides, that incident cost Montreal as Buffalo scored an odd goal on the ensuing power play to win the contest: