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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm was transported to a hospital for precautionary assessment after a puck struck him in the head during Monday night's matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
In the first period of Minnesota's 4-2 win, Sturm was inadvertently hit on the right side of his helmet by a slap shot from teammate Jared Spurgeon. The arena, which had been buzzing after the Wild took a three-goal lead, fell into an eerie silence as Sturm collapsed to the ice. Team medical personnel attended to him before he slowly made his way off the rink with assistance.
Wild head coach John Hynes did not have an update on Sturm's condition but indicated that the forward was unlikely to accompany the team to Winnipeg for Tuesday's game.
The bizarre play immediately reminded the Wild of defenseman Brock Faber, who is out indefinitely after suffering a skull fracture from a puck to the head in the team's final preseason game. Faber had actually returned to action before experiencing discomfort and being sent to a hospital for further tests.
Sturm, who was skating left wing on the fourth line, was helped off the ice by center Michael McCarron, who couldn't help but think of Faber.
"Holding his ear, same spot kind of," McCarron said. "I felt horrible. Us as a fourth line, we like to get to the net, and pucks are flying by us all the time. It's kind of a dangerous area to go. That's why not a lot of people love to go to the net. It's scary around there, and I'm just praying for the best for him. He seemed to be OK when I saw him after the first, but yeah, it's scary."
The 31-year-old Sturm has primarily played center throughout his career, but he has been filling in on the fourth line with veterans Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno both sidelined by unspecified injuries.
With Faber out and backup goalie Filip Gustavsson still recovering from offseason hip surgery, the Wild are banged up but have still managed a 4-1-1 start.
"You have to deal with the hands you're dealt, and that's why it's such an important thing to have a strong team game, where you are structured and you do have an identity of how you want to play and guys understand it," Hynes said.
Faber visited his teammates at the rink on Monday and attended the game. He has another medical evaluation coming up soon, Hynes said, and has been making lots of good progress since the injury.
"He's doing really good," Hynes said. "He's in good spirits."
_ See AP's full NHL coverage here.
Originally reported by yahoo.