Easton Cowan's big night didn't end well.
The London Knights forward and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect recorded a point for the 56th game in a row in OHL regular-season play on Friday when he scored midway through the first period against the visiting Oshawa Generals to give his team a 2-0 lead.
But one period later, an open-ice hit from Generals defenceman Zack Sandhu sent both to their respective dressing rooms.
Neither player returned to the ice, and after the incident the Generals stormed back to win 5-3 in a rematch of last year's OHL final.
Knights GM Mark Hunter told the London Free Press that Cowan was "feeling pretty good" after the game and that he didn't expect the injury to keep him out of Canadian junior selection camp next week in Ottawa. Hunter did say the team will have to take another look at Cowan on Saturday morning.
Cowan is a virtual lock to play in the world juniors if healthy, meaning he wouldn't play another game for the Knights until the new year.
Because Cowan's streak spans two seasons, it does not put him in the official record book. Former Leafs star Doug Gilmour recorded a point 55 games in a row with the Cornwall Royals way back in 1982-83.
Gilmour congratulated Cowan on the new mark.
The OHL's most valuable player in the regular season and playoffs last season, Cowan, 19, was sent back to London this year by the Leafs because he is not old enough to play with the AHL Marlies. He's part of a first-place Knights team that had won 19 games in a row heading into Friday night.
Cowan had 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points in 19 games before Friday's tilt.
The Leafs picked Cowan in the first round (28th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Meanwhile, the Knights were unhappy with the hit that knocked Cowan out of the contest.
"In my opinion, the guy could have laid off the hit. It's blindside and dirty," London captain Denver Barkey told the Free Press. "That's the MVP, that's the Red Tilson winner and the MVP of the playoffs, and that doesn't go unnoticed."
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