Panthers’ Eric Staal knocked out of recreation after questionable hit from Mike Matheson

On the identical day he acquired a $25,000 wonderful for criticizing officers, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice was given another excuse to gripe.

This time round, Panthers ahead Eric Staal was shaken up by a crushing reverse hit by Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson in the course of the first interval of Thursday’s recreation. Including insult to damage, Matheson didn’t obtain a penalty for what simply might’ve been deemed interference.

The Panthers later announced that Staal, 38, wouldn’t return to the sport. Formally, the workforce described it as an upper-body damage.

No penalty, however self-discipline nonetheless given

Matheson averted punishment in actual time however the NHL nonetheless managed to return down on him. He was given a $5,000 fine for interference on Friday, which is the utmost allowable underneath the collective bargaining settlement.

Matheson, 28, has acquired one suspension to date throughout his NHL profession. Again in 2018, the league banned him for 2 video games for slamming Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson to the ice.

Eric Staal battling to maintain NHL profession alive

Over a prolonged NHL profession of 1,333 regular-season and 83 playoff contests, Staal has suffered a minimum of one concussion. Again in 2017, he suffered such an damage crashing head-first into the boards.

Regardless of successful a Stanley Cup, making six All-Star video games, and authoring a number of 40-goal seasons, Staal’s been prepared to grind to maintain his NHL profession alive. He didn’t play within the league in any respect in 2021-22, as an alternative captaining Canada on the 2022 Winter Olympics. Solely after impressing at coaching camp on a PTO did Staal cement a spot with this season’s Panthers.

Amongst a season of disappointments for Florida, it’s nonetheless spectacular that Staal’s managed to swimsuit up for 40 video games, amassing seven objectives and 7 assists for 14 factors. Ideally, the veteran ahead will bounce again from that tough hit by Matheson.

And, ideally for Maurice’s pockets, he’ll let that perceived missed name go.

Sergei Bobrovsky additionally injured in penalty-filled Panthers win

Within the grand scheme of issues, missed calls weren’t the story of this recreation, and Staal doesn’t essentially stand as probably the most noteworthy damage.

Story continues

Early in an eventual 6-2 Panthers win, Sergei Bobrovsky tweaked one thing throughout a routine-looking play. It’s unclear how severe the difficulty could be, however Bobrovsky didn’t return:

In Bobrovsky’s absence, Alex Lyon made 23 out of 25 saves, together with this sprawling magnificence:

Massive image, this was a penalty-filled affair, even past Matthew Tkachuk fighting to avenge Staal.

The Panthers scored 4 power-play objectives on eight alternatives, whereas the Canadiens couldn’t convert on 5 of their very own. Florida scored all 4 of these power-play objectives within the second interval, tying a franchise document and making life simpler for Lyon.

Prior to now 4 video games, the Panthers have scored a minimum of 4 objectives, and earned three wins, elevating hopes for a playoff push.

Extra from Yahoo Sports activities