Canes’ Brind’Amour can only think of Svechnikov injury after playoff loss to Bruins
Rod Brind’Amour was trying his best to talk about the game but had trouble doing it.
Andrei Svechnikov was hurt late in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-1 playoff loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Replays of the injury to his right leg were hard to watch and made it hard for Brind’Amour, as his coach, to discuss other things about the game in Toronto.
“Right now it’s tough to see a kid go down and that injury looks really bad,” Brind’Amour said on his media call. “That’s all that’s going through my head. I hate it for him.”
Brind’Amour’s dejected demeanor and voice were visible evidence of his deep concern. Losing a game is one thing. But losing a player like Svechnikov, with all that the 20-year-old forward means to his team, would be a crusher.
With less than five minutes to play in regulation, Svechnikov and Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara battled in front of the Boston net. Chara, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound veteran, used his right arm and shoulder to push Svechnikov backward, the Russian forward spinning and falling on his right leg as he tumbled to the ice.
A knee injury? A broken ankle, broken leg? Svechnikov grabbed his leg and was assisted by defenseman Dougie Hamilton -- who suffered a broken leg in January -- and head trainer Doug Bennett in leaving the ice and being taken for medical evaluation.
“It didn’t look good, obviously, he fell really awkward,” Brind’Amour said. “It certainly didn’t look good.”
Svechnikov has four goals and three assists in the Canes’ six postseason games, scoring the second goal Thursday in the 3-2 win in Game 2 against the Bruins. His strength, power and scoring ability were a problem for the Bruins although Brind’Amour had taken him off the top line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen to offer more balance to the lines.
But it’s more than about the sniping shots and points. Svechnikov was voted the Steve Chiasson Award by his teammates the 2019-20 season, recognizing his determination, dedication and inspiration. At 20, he was the youngest player to receive the award.
“Pretty impressive young man,” Brind’Amour said after Game 2. “He’s getting better and better.”
Under the NHL Return to Play protocols for the postseason, a player must be listed as “Unfit to Play” if injured, with no further health information released. Canes defenseman Joel Edmundson has been “unfit to play” the past two games. Hamilton missed all three games of the New York Rangers qualifying series with an undisclosed injury suffered in training camp.
Svechnikov’s injury in last year’s playoffs couldn’t be disguised. In Game 3 of the first-round series against the Washington Capitals at PNC Arena, he squared off with the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin and took a few big punches to the head before falling to the ice.
A concussion sidelined Svechnikov the rest of the Caps series but he was able to return in the playoffs, saying of the confrontation and fight, “That’s hockey, you know?”
The injury Saturday had many takes on social media. Some tweeted that Chara had slewfooted Svechnikov and others said he did not, that it was just an unfortunate fall.
Jack Edwards, the Bruins’ play-by-play man on NESN, tweeted: “What NBC hasn’t shown yet, regarding the unfortunate injury to Svechnikov: the Carolina wing playing hobby-horse, riding Chara on the back apron of the goal. You poke the bear, you take your chances. No one wanted to see Svechnikov hurt, but he bit off more than he could chew.”
Others, after watching the replays, correctly tweeted that it was Aho and not Svechnikov behind the net battling with Chara before the Svechnikov injury.
The Hurricanes’ response on Twitter (@Canes): “This one should have stayed in the drafts, Jack.”
If Svechnikov is unable to play, Ryan Dzingel likely will rejoin the lineup after being a healthy scratch Saturday. The playoffs are about attrition and adjustments, and this would be a big one for the Hurricanes.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 5:07 PM.
