The injury Arizona forward Brad Richardson suffered in last night’s OT loss to the Canucks is a serious one.
Per TSN, Richardson broke both his tibia and fibula in a second period collision with Vancouver d-man Nikita Tryamkin, and will undergo surgery today.
Right from the moment the hit happened, it was clear something was significantly wrong -- Richardson was in a massive amount of pain and, when his right leg was stabilized on a pillow, he screamed out in anguish.
Following the contest, Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said he expected to know more about Richardson’s status today, but believed “we’re looking at a pretty significant injury.”
Richardson, a former Canuck, is in his second year with Arizona after scoring a career-high 31 points in ’15-16. He was off to a very good start this year -- five goals and nine points through 16 games -- while averaging 15:21 TOI per night, so his presence will certainly be missed.
As for Tryamkin? Though the Richardson hit looked innocuous enough, he’s forging a reputation. It was his hit that knocked Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou out of action last week and, in the game following the Detroit tilt, Tryamkin had a big, noteworthy hit on Dallas captain Jamie Benn.
Update: The Coyotes released a statement...
Brad Richardson is currently stabilized at the hospital and the plan of care is still being discussed. We will have an update later today.
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) November 18, 2016