Jonathan Toews' neck bends awkwardly on hit by Dennis Seidenberg (Update)
Seeing their all world two-time Stanley Cup winning captain's neck bend in an awkward position is probably not the way Chicago Blackhawks fans would have liked to have spent their Thursday night. Alas, that is what happened to Jonathan Toews who was slammed hard into the boards by Bruins punishing defenseman Dennis Seidenberg at TD Garden.
The attached photo is from Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period who seemed to get it with a screen capture. Looks pretty ugly.
Toews was slow to get up and stayed in the game, but eventually left. Notes Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"He skated toward the bench during the break in action, but stayed on the ice for the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, during which he took a hooking penalty. He played a three-second shift after that before leaving the game."
The video please:
Seidenberg was given two minutes for boarding.
Curious here as to why Toews -- who missed time in 2012 with a concussion -- stayed in the game even for a little bit, or was allowed to for that matter, when it's pretty clear that he suffered some sort of neck/head injury.
Also, would this hit merit a call from Stephane Quintal? When a hit like that happens to a star player like Toews, you have to think the Department of Player Safety will take a look at it. Then again, they supposdely look at every hit.
Update: Following the game, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was asked about Toews' status and why he stayed in the contest initially. CSN Chicago's Tracey Myers with the below report.
Coach Joel Quenneville said after that Toews, “seemed all right. We’ll see how he is tomorrow [but] it looks like he’s going to be all right.”
Asked about the protocol in a situation like Toews’, Quenneville said, “as a staff, it’s up to everyone in that situation.”
Also from Patrick Sharp in the same story on the Seidenberg hit:
“it was tough lose Johnny to a hit like that. Seidenberg has a reputation as a clean hockey player. He has a lot of respect. Having said that, we didn’t like that hit. We needed to bear down more on the 5-on-3 and make them pay.”
And it appears Seidenberg might have his day in DoPS court. The Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin reports that the Department of Player Safety will "be reviewing" the Seidenberg hit, citing an NHL source.
Boston coach Claude Julien predictably took his players' side per Joe Haggerty of CSN New England:
“I certainly don’t like seeing those kinds of things, but this is where it’s important to take care of ourselves. So, I view that five-on-three we’re going to close a gap quickly, and Dennis [Seidenberg] is a strong individual,” said Julien. “Is he supposed to get weak because of that situation?
“Or he just plays to his strength. I wasn’t happy. I looked at it, and it could be arguable, but from my end of it I think it’s what it is. Our guys need to finish their checks and sure, you’ve got to be careful, but I’m sure he knew that [Seidenberg] was coming.”
In the same story, Seidenberg said he never wanted to see a player fo into the boards in such a way, and “I would never want to hurt a guy."
Judging by the video, it looked like Seidenberg drove him hard into the boards all the way, without Toews turning at the last second, but it's still tough to be 100 percent sure. They looked to be shoulder-on-shoulder, but it's hard to know exactly how it completely unfolded on ice level.
So much stuff to digest here, between Seidenberg's hit and whether supplemental discipline will be involved, why Toews stayed in the the game, how long will the Blackhawks captain be out... and the story is still unfolding.
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY
