Boston Bruins center Marc Savard suffered a concussion and had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher after being leveled by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke with 5:37 remaining in Sunday's game.
Savard had just taken a shot from above the circles when Cooke raised his shoulder and struck Savard in the head. Cooke was coming from behind on the play and Savard did not see him.
Savard was on the ice for several minutes, being attended to by a Penguins team doctor, before being carried off. He was moving his legs while on the ice and his arms while on the stretcher.
The Bruins released the following statement after the game: "Marc lost consciousness briefly on the ice after being struck in the head. He suffered a concussion from the hit. He was not transported to a hospital, but will remain at the team hotel in Pittsburgh with a member of the Bruins' medical staff tonight as a precaution. No further update on Marc's condition is expected tonight."
No penalty was called on the play, a fact that did not sit well with Boston coach Claude Julien.
"It certainly doesn't look like a very good hit," he said. "We'll let the League take care of it and hopefully make the right decision here."
Teammates expressed their concern for Savard, who has missed 23 games this season already due to foot and knee injuries.
"We play a hard game and a dangerous game, but you never want to see anyone get hurt," defenseman Dennis Wideman said.
"We are a tight group. We really care for each other," captain Zdeno Chara said. "We are a family, so for sure, when you see somebody go down like that you have some concerns. Hopefully it's not so serious and he's going to be fine, but right now we just have to wait and see what the result's going to be."
The 32-year-old Savard has 10 goals and 33 points in 41 games this season.
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