Evander Kane left the Buffalo Sabres’ home opener and was hospitalized following a nasty fall into the boards. Kane was pursuing a loose puck in Montreal’s zone when he was tripped up by Alexei Emelin’s stick and lost an edge.
Due to the speed of the play, Kane wasn’t able to brace himself in time for a brutal collision.
Kane is in a lot of pain after the contact with Emelin pic.twitter.com/T5qlTO0eT8
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) October 14, 2016
And another angle:
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/786734453154574337
After being stretchered off the ice, the Sabres announced that Kane was taken to the hospital to be evaluated and for precautionary reasons.
Injury update: Evander Kane has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation and precautionary measures.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 14, 2016
It looks like Kane’s left shoulder/arm/wrist absorbed the bulk of his collision into the boards. However, considering how violent the collision was, it’s too early to rule out an injury to his ribs or back which might explain the need for hospitalization. That’s just speculation, but it’s clear the injury was significant enough to warrant an outside opinion and testing.
The Sabres are already without Jack Eichel for the next couple months and it’d be a major blow to the club if Kane is forced to miss a significant amount of time too. It’s early, but it looks like the Sabres already have some bad karma hanging over their roster.
