Silence swept the Bell Centre on Thursday night, as Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban had to be stretchered off the ice in the third period after a freak collision with a teammate.
Subban was chasing after Buffalo Sabres winger Marcus Foligno in the corner when he seemed to trip and lose his balance. As he fell, teammate Alexei Emelin came charging in to make a hit on Foligno and his knee collided violently with Subban's head and neck:
Subban stretchered off. Hope it's just a stinger, but either way, looks scary. pic.twitter.com/MvVwZXhGzz
— Stephanie (@myregularface) March 11, 2016
Another angle:
Subban clearly required immediate medical attention and laid prone on the ice for a long time as doctors and training staff from both teams attended to him. It took another five or six minutes for them to get Subban onto a stretcher carefully and off the ice. The Canadiens are expected to release updates on his status as they become available.
Subban manages a thumbs up for the crowd.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 11, 2016
Hopefully he's ok. Scary moment. pic.twitter.com/ULsa6s0oXL
UPDATE: The Canadiens have confirmed that Subban is being held overnight for observation for a neck injury, but he has movement in his extremities:
P.K. Subban suffered a neck injury and was taken to hospital for further testing. He has normal movement in extremities.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 11, 2016