Another unfortunate gesture in the NHL

The win was secondary in the Chicago Blackhawks locker room on Saturday after defender Conor Murphy fell off the ice.

The scene is bloodshot: In the first period, Murphy collapses on the ice in an unsettling position, without moving, after examining Parker Kelly of the Ottawa Senators. The latter received a minor penalty and game misconduct.

The match was halted for more than seven minutes while the medical staff gently moved Murphy. And even if the latter gave his thumbs up when vacated, captain Jonathan Toyos had a hard time getting back into the game.

He admitted, according to the comments carried by the daily, “It’s hard to regroup and worry about a match when your thoughts are with your teammate, when you don’t really know if he’s doing a good job.” Chicago Grandstand. He obviously looked pretty serious when he was put on a stretcher, so we’re really glad he’s doing well.”

heart and soul

In fact, Murphy did not need to take him to the hospital after that. And coach Derek King confirmed that he remained on the field under the supervision of the Black Hawks staff and will accompany his colleagues on the return trip to Chicago.

The organization will certainly urge caution in his case, as he already underwent concussion protocol this season in early December.

If he were to miss a game, it would be a huge loss for the Illinois defensive team, as Murphy leads the National Hockey League (NHL) with 150 blocked shots.

“It’s really hard to see a teammate fall, especially a guy like Murphy,” said Caleb Jones. It’s kind of heart and soul [de notre équipe]. “

use your head

If thoughts revolved around Murphy rather than Kelly’s nod after the Hawks’ 6-3, Toews didn’t hesitate to use the shots to remind everyone on the tour that toughness, while important, should be used with common sense.

He began by saying, “I can’t comment on the hit per se. I think any time someone gets on the ice like that, the blame definitely falls on the guy who threw the player off the boards.”

“I think we’re at a point in the league where there’s this level of respect and understanding that you don’t want to be in that situation. You want to play physically, you want to hit hard, but if there’s a possibility of something like that happening, you have to be smarter about it.”