What a scary sight in Chicago tonight. In the first period, Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa took a hit from Coyotes forward Raffi Torres up high and fell to the ice where he remained motionless. Eventually, he was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
The news didn't get much better on Hossa as he was sent to the hospital. But the Blackhawks released a statement later in the night saying things were looking better, thankfully.
#Blackhawks' statement on Marian Hossa says winger had tests at hospital"which yielded encouraging results." Being monitored at home.
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) April 18, 2012
Remarkably, there was no penalty called on Torres for the hit, one in which he clearly left the ice to make the hit.
After the hit it was Chicago coach Joel Quenneville's turn to talk to the broadcast on-ice TV reporter and, well, he was steamed, just as you'd imagine.
"I saw the whole play, he was going 100 miles per hour, no puck," Quenneville said. "Hit was head to head, it was a brutal hit, I can't believe four guys missed it. It makes me sick.
"Hard to believe they missed that call. Hard to believe."
What's the penalty on the play? Well, take your pick. It's obviously a charge, you could call it interference as well. Oh, and a head hit? Yes, that one would work as well. None were called on the play.
Remember, the Blackhawks and their fans were already fired up because of the three-game suspension to Andrew Shaw for his hit on Mike Smith. With that in mind and without even a two-minute minor to Torres on this play, they'll be asking for blood from Brendan Shanahan here.
Torres does have a history with supplemental discipline. He was suspended two games earlier this season and also took a fine of $2,500. So if he does get called to a Shanaban hearing, that's not going to work in his favor at all. Nor will the fact that Hossa was injured on the play and had to go to the hospital.
Tyson Nash, the color analyst for the Coyotes TV broadcast, said he didn't have a problem with the hit, at one point saying it's as clean as you're going to get.
For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @BrianStubitsNHL on Twitter and like us on Facebook.