There was a scary moment during Game 5 of the Minnesota Wild’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.
During a 4-on-4 situation in the second period, Wild center Eric Staal sent a breakaway shot toward Blues netminder Jake Allen. As he was unleashing the shot, he was bumped by Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. Staal lost his balance and then tripped over Allen’s skate which sent him tumbling into the boards headfirst.
Here’s a video of the ugly collision.
Oh man, Staal goes headfirst into the boards and is down pic.twitter.com/sZd9DvCrw2
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 22, 2017
Staal remained down for several minutes before staggering to his feet. He went to the locker room with assistance and was transported to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., for observation.
The Wild tweeted out an update on Staal during the third period of the game.
Eric Staal is alert and stable and has been taken to Regions Hospital for further observation. #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 22, 2017
The Blues won the game 4-3 in overtime to win the series 4-1 and eliminate the Wild from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sport Images
