Another scary scene in the NHL on Sunday night as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jacob MacDonald had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher following a bit hit in their game against the Florida Panthers.
It is the second time in a week an NHL player had to be removed from a game on a stretcher (Chicago’s Jujhar Khaira also had that happen a few nights ago).
The incident happened early in the second period and came on a hit from Florida’s Ryan Lomberg.
MacDonald was coming out of the corner and attempting to make a play on the puck when he was hit by Lomberg. There was no penalty for the hit and it appeared to be a legal hit, but it was obviously an extremely forceful hit with an ugly result. Lomberg ended up fighting Colorado’s Nicolas Aube-Kubel in response.
The early returns sound promising, though. The Avalanche announced that MacDonald is alert, responsive, and has full movement as he continues to be evaluated at the arena.
Jacob MacDonald left tonight’s game after taking a hit in the second period. He is alert, responsive and has full movement. He is currently undergoing further evaluation at Ball Arena.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) December 13, 2021
“A scary moment,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said afterward. “But he’s seen our trainers and everything is going good. I think [the hit] might have been clean. ... Physicality is part of the game but I don’t love seeing guys go down, especially when they can’t get up.”
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.