Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was taken off the ice on a stretcher after taking a knee to his face.
Tavares gave a thumbs-up as he left the ice. The incident happened in the first period of the team’s first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Tavares fell to the ice after a hit by Ben Chiarot. As Tavares was falling, he was clipped in the head by a diving Corey Perry.
Tavares, 30, was moving his extremities the entire time. He tried to stand up but couldn’t, losing his balance and falling backward. Several Montreal players came over to wish Tavares well before he was stretched off, including Perry.
Maple Leafs forward Nick Foligno engaged in a fight with Perry shortly after the game resumed.
The Canadiens took to Twitter during Thursday’s game, writing, “We’d like to express our concern for John Tavares and are sending him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.”
The Leafs and Canadiens are playing each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1979.