The Minnesota Wild earned a big win over the Kings in Los Angeles last night, 3-2, but they paid a price to get it.
Wild forwards Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter both left the game with potential head injuries, according to the Star Tribune.
Granlund was forced to leave the gave after banging his head trying to make a hit on L.A.’s Jordan Stoll. Michael Russo wrote that Granlund had a “nasty red mark below his left eye after the game.” Granlund does have a history of concussions, but no word yet on whether this collision reached the concussion level.
Niederreiter was injured when Kings’ defenseman Jake Muzzin caught him up high with a vicious open-ice hit in the first period. Niederreiter crashed to the ice and left the game. Muzzin wasn’t done. Later in the game he destroyed Jason Pominville with another open-ice hit, again going high with his shoulder. Pominville, fortunately, bounced back up and stayed in the game.
Muzzin wasn’t penalized for either hit, but Wild forward Matt Moulson was when he went after Muzzin following the hit on Pominville.
“That stuff builds team chemistry,” head coach Mike Yeo said of Moulson standing up for his teammate. “Whenever you see somebody who goes outside what’s normal for them and they’re doing it for the team, the way I saw our killers go out on that kill and then for [Moulson] to get that goal, I thought it was great.
Injury updates on both are not expected until Wednesday afternoon.
Video of the vicious hits to Niederreiter and Pominville are below, courtesy of Pro Hockey Talk.
