Edler injures Eric Staal with knee-on-knee hit

Canada's Eric Staal is helped off the ice by teammates Ryan O'Reilly (right) and Claude Giroux after being kneed by Sweden's Alexander Edler during quarter-final game action Thursday, May 16, 2013 at the world hockey championship in Stockholm, Sweden.

Team Canada captain Eric Staal was injured Thursday in Stockholm during Canada’s quarterfinal match against Sweden at the world ice hockey championships.

At 15:52 of the first period of play, Sweden defenceman Alex Edler caught Staal with a knee-on-knee hit while Staal tried to corral a rebound on his backhand after his initial shot was blocked by netminder Jhonas Enroth.

After rolling on the ice in agony, the Canadian forward left the game with assistance.

Edler, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, was dealt a five-minute major and a game misconduct after the infraction. He threw his stick in frustration as he left the ice.

Sweden defeated Canada in a 3-2 shootout victory to advance to the semifinals.

Staal, a star for the Carolina Hurricanes, struggled to put weight on his right leg as he left the ice and was reportedly taken for an MRI by NHL doctors.

Staal, the only member of Canada’s 2010 Olympic squad at the event, has three assists in seven games played for Team Canada in the tournament.



(vine via Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy)

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