Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares has been injured and taken to the hospital.
Ten minutes into the first period of the first game between the Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, Tavares fell to the ice after a hit from Ben Chiarot. Then the bad hit happened.
Note: The footage in this story may be pretty upsetting. You may wish to skip the videos entirely.
At the blue line, Montreal defender Ben Chiarot puts a big, clean hit into Tavares’s side. Tavares tumble sidelong onto the ice. As he does, his head turns towards Montreal forward Corey Perry. Perry’s knee goes into Tavares’ head with force. Trainers rush out as Tavares attempts to get up but cannot.
The trainers immediately call for more support. Eventually a stretcher is brought onto the ice and Tavares is lifted into it.
As the captain leaves the ice, he manages a thumbs up. Perry reaches out to comfort Tavares on the stretcher.
Pierre LeBrun reports that Tavares has been taken to the hospital.
The Canadiens have released a statement:
Nous sommes troublés par le terrible accident impliquant John Tavares et lui envoyons nos meilleures pensées.
We’d like to express our concern for John Tavares and are sending him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 21, 2021
Screenshot courtesy of Sportsnet
