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Skinner returned to Carolina for examination after Cowen hit

SkinnerCowen

On Wednesday, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they’ve returned Jeff Skinner to Raleigh for further examination after he took a massive hit from Sens defenseman Jared Cowen in Ottawa on Tuesday.

Here’s the incident in question:

The ‘Canes are currently on a mini two-game trip through Ottawa and Winnipeg, before returning home on Saturday to play Philadelphia.

So, Skinner will presumably miss Thursday’s game against the Jets, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he was held out against the Flyers -- and beyond.

The 20-year-old has suffered concussions in each of the past two seasons, missing 16 games last year and five games this year.

As for the hit that did the damage, Carolina head coach Kirk Muller and enforcer Kevin Westgarth -- who fought Cowen later in the game -- clearly weren’t pleased.

“I think you’ve got a big guy coming down on a shorter guy and you catch him high, in the upper body,” Muller told the Raleigh News and Observer. “It’s a tough one there, a tough one to call.”

“It’s terrible to see when a guy gets hit like that,” Westgarth added. “It’s not going to be accepted by anybody on our team.”

According to Chip Alexander of the News and Observer, ‘Canes GM Jim Rutherford said he didn’t think Cowen intended to injure Skinner, and that the hit “is classified as a legal hit in our sport.”