CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira was stretchered off the ice after he was leveled by New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba on Tuesday night.
The Blackhawks said Khaira suffered an “upper-body blow” and was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Hospital for further testing.
“He’s up, he’s talking, he’s very responsive,” interim coach Derek King said after Chicago’s 6-2 loss. “I think he wants to get back on the ice. He’s done some tests already, as far as what the doc told me, but he has some more tests to be done. So we won’t know the extent of the injury until after these tests.”
On Wednesday morning, the team issued a statement saying that Khaira was released from the hospital after extensive testing and returned home. The team did not specify his injury.
“Despite the significant injury, his prognosis is excellent, and we expect a full recovery,” the statement said. “At this point, it is too early to put a timeline on return to play.”
Khaira’s head was down as he gathered in the puck 6:10 into the second period, and Trouba appeared to drive his right shoulder into his chin. Khaira’s head bounced hard off the ice, and there was no sign of any movement as the Blackhawks and Rangers scuffled nearby.
A stretcher was wheeled onto the ice, and medical personnel worked on Khaira as each team looked on from the bench area. A handful of his teammates and the Rangers tapped the stretcher as Khaira was taken off.
“Personally, I was pretty shaken,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said of the hit. “I’m not going to lie to you. Just glad to hear he’s doing OK.”
The Blackhawks’ Riley Stillman fought Trouba about two minutes later.
“It’s a bad effect. I didn’t feel too good and I know our player didn’t feel too good, either,” New York coach Gerard Gallant said. “It’s a part of hockey, it’s a big hit, but I don’t think it helped the game. To see a guy like that, it’s hard to look at.”
Khaira, 27, has two goals and no assists in 17 games in his first season with the Blackhawks.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: www.espn.com