The Calgary Flames lost Kevin Bahl in the second period of a heated contest with the Minnesota Wild.
Bahl was skating back to play a puck in the Flames' end when Wild forward Jakub Lauko hit him from behind, sending the Calgary defenceman head first into the boards.
He was able to skate off under his own power, but was ruled out for the remainder of the game as the third period began, according to the broadcast.
Lauko received a two-minute minor for boarding after a review from officials. Flames head coach Ryan Huska was visibly frustrated with the decision after the call was confirmed.
The intensity of the game ratcheted up following the hit, with Calgary's Ryan Lomberg getting Lauko to drop the gloves shortly after.
Without Bahl, Calgary was down to five defencemen for the remainder of the game.
Bahl has emerged as an important member of the Flames blue line in his first season with the team. The six-foot-six D-man had two goals, 14 points, a plus-1 rating and 77 blocked shots through 46 games entering Saturday.
Acquired as part of the package for goaltender Jacob Markstrom in the off-season, Bahl is averaging a career-high 21:33 of ice time per game.
Before puck drop in Minnesota, the Flames sat in the final wild-card position in the Western Conference with a 23-16-7 record.
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