Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt exited Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks after appearing to be in serious pain suffering from a knee-to-knee collision with Logan Couture.
As nasty as this rivalry is becoming despite it existing for such a short period of time, it looked accidental. Schmidt’s distress likely explains why a Golden Knights trainer went on the ice even though the Sharks still possessed the puck. Video of the collision is available above this post’s headline.
Vegas ended the first period with a 2-1 lead.
Either way, as strong as the Golden Knights looked through the first 20 minutes, Schmidt missing time would really sting for a Golden Knights team that had to trade away Colin Miller for salary cap reasons. It also must be that much more frustrating for Schmidt, who had a tough start to the 2018-19 as well, thanks to a 20-game PED suspension.
Schmidt will not return to Wednesday’s game. There’s no word yet on the extent of injury beyond the season-opener.
UPDATE:
Nate Schmidt is week to week with a lower-body injury, Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. #VegasBorn
— David Schoen 🗞 (@DavidSchoenLVRJ) October 3, 2019
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.