Connor Murphy taken away from rink on stretcher during Chicago Blackhawks game against Senators 


Connor Murphy taken away from rink on stretcher during Chicago Blackhawks game against Senators 

Connor Murphy

The Chicago Blackhawks alternate captain in the National Hockey League (NHL) Connor Murphy was taken from the ice on a stretcher in the first period of the game against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Saturday. 

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After a 6-3 win, Coach Derek King said shared an update on the Massachusetts native Murphy. The defenseman will return to Chicago with the Blackhawks.

“I went in and looked at him in between periods,” King said. “I just gave him the old pat on the leg there and said, ‘Hey, hang in there.’ He is travelling back with us, so that’s good news.”

“I said, ‘Hey, listen. This stuff happens in our line of work and there’s nothing we can do about it,'” King said. “Obviously, we don’t want to see a player hurt like that, but we have to focus on the task ahead of us.”

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“Want to play physical, hit hard, but you’ve got to be smarter” – Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Toews
Jonathan Toews

Murphy was attempting to play the puck at the right-wing boards in the offensive zone when he was hit into the glass by Senators forward Parker Kelly. The latter went on to receive a major penalty for boarding and game misconduct at 2:40 of the period.

“I can’t comment on the hit, per se,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “I think whenever someone does end up on the ice like that, there’s definitely the responsibility on the guy who throws our guy into the boards. I don’t know. I think we’re at the point in the league where there’s that respect level and the understanding that you don’t want to be in a situation like that. You want to play physical, you want to hit hard, but if there’s potential for something like that to happen, you’ve got to be smarter about it.”

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