NHL teams
ESPN News Services 6y

Canadiens' Phillip Danault out of hospital after Zdeno Chara slap shot to head

NHL, Montreal Canadiens

MONTREAL -- Canadiens center Phillip Danault was stretchered off the ice after he was hit in the head by a slap shot from Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara. 

Danault went down with 1:37 left in the second period Saturday night. Chara, who has one of the hardest shots in the NHL, looked on in concern as trainers attended to Danault.

Danault, 24, was moving and speaking to medical staff before he left the ice and received an ovation from the Bell Centre crowd. The team said he had a head injury and was taken to a hospital for further examination. 

Danault was released from the hospital Sunday and was resting at home, the team announced.

According to the CBC broadcast, the shot from Chara registered at 123.2 kilometers per hour, which converts to 76.5 mph.

"You never want to see that,'' coach Claude Julien said. "Regardless if it's your own team or the other team, no one wants to see injuries like that.

"They always make you worry. The players are still worried about him, but the reports are good so far."

Chara and other players from both teams gathered around Danault while he was down. As Danault was leaving the ice, Chara went over and said something to him.

"I wanted to make sure he was OK," Chara said. "He was talking to me and responding, so that made me feel better that he's OK and he's not in a condition where he's not responding. So I was glad that he was doing OK."

Both teams headed to the locker room after Danault got hurt, and the rest of the second period was played after intermission. The Bruins went on to win 4-3 in a shootout. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

^ Back to Top ^