New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal left Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins after appearing to suffer a lower-body injury.
The incident occurred early in the first period as Barzal took a hit from Bruins forward Craig Smith. He remained on the ice before gingerly heading to the bench.
Barzal briefly returned to the ice to skate during a T.V. timeout, but was seen clutching his knee area before heading back to the locker room, and was sidelined for the remainder of the game.
Head coach Lane Lambert told reporters after the game that he had “no update” on Barzal, hindering the already short-handed Islanders who are also without Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Barzal, a native of Coquitlam, B.C., was selected 16th overall by the Islanders in the 2015 NHL Draft. This season, he’s amassed 14 goals and 51 points in 57 games and has a career total of 362 points.