It was late into the third period between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at the Bell Centre when things unraveled as LW Marcus Foligno got his skate tangled up with PK Subban; however, this was only just the beginning.
While looking to assist Alex Galchenyuk on a potential hat trick which would ultimately be the game winner, Alexei Emelin was headed towards the Buffalo net when he suddenly collided with the alternate captain. Things took a turn for the worst.
What Came Next...?
Subban almost immediately landed back-first on the ice, which silenced all who witnessed the scare. Medical personnel rushed out towards him with all signs leading towards negative news in regards to his status for the remainder of the season.
It took appoximitely eight minutes before he had been stablized and taken off on a stretcher as thunderous applause filled the stadium as a sign of support.
He was then rushed to Montreal General Hospital where he underwent a CT scan to look for any possible damage to his neck and spine. Thankfully, results came back negative.
Action Resumed
While that was going on, action had resumed at the Bell Centre, which saw a go-ahead goal from Torrey Mitchell go by Robin Lehner with under five minutes left to give the club their second straight victory.
Back on the Subban side of things, rather than letting him go right away, the decision had been made to keep him overnight for observation which was followed up by an early morning MRI that also came back clean.
Not long after having received his full set of results, both the doctors as well as team representitaves decided to go ahead and release the 26-year-old. A club announcement soon followed, saying he had suffered a non-serious neck injury. This now leaves a single question mark alive with regards to his timeline for return given the fact that he has never missed a game due to injury.
Head Coach Michel Therrien met with the media Friday afternoon, where he confirmed that Subban will sit out for at least the next game to give him some time to fully recover while also mentioning that both a forward and defenseman will be called up from the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL.
What Can Be Expected For The Habs Going Forward?
There seems to be a form of unwritten success surrounding the team with the playoffs continuing to near. Though they don't have a chance to enter April action, performance has stepped up which could make for a fun upcoming 2016-17 season where they look to get back to where they once stood atop the Atlantic division.
When Could Carey Price Make His Much-Anticipated Return?
Gino Reda of TSN.ca spoke with Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette earlier in the day and amidst their conversation, Carey Price had been brought up which led to a question as to when he could return. As for opinion, Hickey said, "I expect he's going to play 1 of those 2 games next week, either Tuesday against the Florida Panthers or Wednesday when they re-match the Sabres once again."
John Lu of TSN.ca later reported that after speaking with Therrien, he said Price is not ready to practice with the team, refuting the initial report by stating, "We're not there yet."
On Deck
The Canadiens are back at it on Saturday night when they take on the Minnesota Wild with Mike Condon expected to get the start between the pipes as puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET and is available for viewing on CBC, TVA Sports, FSN, RSN and Sportsnet. The game can be heard on 98.5 FM and TSN 690.