It’s not looking good for the Boston Bruins at the moment. They lost Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes, but they also suffered a huge blow as Hampus Lindholm had to leave the game with an upper-body injury.
Lindholm has been a key defenseman for the Bruins since the trade from Anaheim Ducks, but now, it’s looking like they’re going to have to find a way without him in the upcoming series games.
Lindholm was skating around the goal with the puck in his defensive zone as Andrei Svechnikov came full speed and delivered one of the hardest hits this year. Lindholm had trouble getting up, and when he eventually tried to, he immediately lost balance and fell to the ice.
With help from teammates and doctors, he was led to the dressing room and didn’t return to play.
The referees didn’t penalize Svechnikov for the massive hit, but afterward, he openly admitted he “felt bad” for Lindholm.
“Obviously, I like the physical side of the game, but I feel bad for that guy,” Svechnikov said. “It was a pretty hard hit, and I was in that spot where I kind of have to hit, but he didn’t see me. I have to do that, but I feel bad and concerned for him.”
It’s never fun to see a player leave the ice injured, but Svechnikov got a lot of praise for the hit.
“I think this is a big-time hockey hit,” Tony Amonte said on NBC Sports Boston’s “Boston Sports Tonight.”
“He goes right through his chest. And the tell-tale sign when he goes through the chest is he breaks his stick. You see Hampus Lindholm, he’s on the ground, he’s holding the butt of his stick. It’s just a violent check. It is disturbing to watch. But he goes right through the chest. He’s not targeting the head. He doesn’t jump. … That’s a tremendous hit by a big, physical guy.”
There was also critique on social media against the bruins. Fans were furious that not a single Bruins player chose to throw the gloves at Svechnikov as retaliation.
