Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Connor Murphy had to be taken off of the ice on a stretcher during Saturday’s game after he was hit into the boards by Ottawa Senators forward Parker Kelly.
The incident occurred just 2:40 into the game when Murphy was playing the puck in the Senators’ zone. Kelly pushed Murphy from behind and into the glass, face-first. The game came to a halt as trainers attended to Murphy, who gave a thumbs-up as he was taken away on a stretcher.
Murphy, who leads the NHL this season with 150 blocked shots, missed three games earlier in the 2021-22 season with a concussion.
Ron MacLean said during the first intermission on Hockey Night in Canada that Murphy wasn’t immediately taken to the hospital from the Canadian Tire Centre.
Kelly received a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct.
Ottawa scored short-handed on the ensuing penalty to open the scoring and made it 2-0 before the end of the first period, however, Chicago rallied with Jonathan Toews and Caleb Jones each scoring twice to lead the Blackhawks to a 6-3 victory.