The Washington Capitals have lost six-straight games and they had another dubious start against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
First-line forwards Alex Ovechkin and TJ Oshie slammed into each other at full speed during the first period.
Ovechkin was forced to briefly leave the game.
The collision happened 7:25 into the first period near the Capitals bench.
Both Capitals players were attempting to pressure Morgan Rielly and force a turnover. Ovechkin went for a hit. Instead, he crashed into his own teammate.
Here’s another look in slow motion. Goodness gracious.
Ovechkin, who got the wind knocked out of him, laid on the ice for about a minute before returning to the bench and chuckling with his teammates.
Holy sh*t, a smiling Ovechkin says as he clutches his rib cage.
A minute later, Ovechkin was pulled from the game by an NHL concussion spotter and sent back to the locker room for tests.
The NHL’s concussion protocol, in effect since 2011, mandates that a player be removed from a game after a suspect hit or when showing symptoms.
Starting tonight, players suspected of having a concussion will be removed from the game and sent to a quiet place free from distraction so they can be examined by the on-site team physician. The physician will use the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool test to evaluate the player. Symptoms include loss of consciousness, motor incoordination or balance problems, a blank or vacant look, slow to get up after a hit to the head, disorientation, clutching of the head after a hit or visible facial injury in combination with another symptom.
Ovechkin would return 10:03 later. The Capitals scored on Ovechkin’s first shift back on the ice, a Nicklas Backstrom power-play goal.
Nicklas Backstrom scores his 13th goal of the season after a great centering pass by Evgeny Kuznetsov on the powerplay. pic.twitter.com/YG4Qm0x7uG
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) January 24, 2019
Russian machine never breaks.
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