The Florida Panthers' captain had to retreat to the locker room during the third period after a dirty hit from Leon Draisaitl. Barkov had the puck, braced himself for a hit, but Draisaitl jumped and extended his elbow to hit Barkov on the jaw.
Draisaitl got a two-minute penalty on the play, and Barkov never returned to the game.
Watch how it went down here:
Now, concerning reports suggest he could miss the rest of the playoffs. They suggest that Barkov may have a broken jaw, and that hockey players can't really play through such injuries:
After the game, the Panthers' head coach Paul Maurice didn't look too happy in his press conference. Despite getting his second win of the Finals, he plainly said that the League will look at the incident, and that his feelings about it don't matter:
If Barkov has a broken jaw, it was suggested that he could play with a caged helmet. However, if he has a concussion, he'll likely miss a few games:
With Sergei Bobrovsky, Barkov is the best player in Florida and without him, containing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be challenging. Especially considering that the Oilers will play the next two games in front of their fans.
Unfortunately for Draisaitl, he could miss out on one or two of these games if the League's Department of Player Safety reviews the incident and decides to suspend him.
Stay tuned as further details are expected to be released about Barkov's health before the start of game three on Wednesday night.
Source: Blade of SteelInsider reveals Barkov may have suffered season ending injury
POLL | ||
11 JUIN | 600 ANSWERS Worrying details of Aleksander Barkov's potential season-ending injury emerge Are you worried about Aleksander Barkov's potential season-ending injury? | ||
Yes | 232 | 38.7 % |
No | 368 | 61.3 % |
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