Minnesota faces a nervous wait for the regular season after a scary head injury to their star defenseman triggered a heated, brawl-filled finale against the Stars.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Just what everyone in hockey wishes would not happen. An injury in the final game of preseason, one week before the start of the regular season.
In the Wild's game on Friday against the Dallas Stars, defenseman Brock Faber took a shot to the head and left the game.
He did not return for the whole third period.
Despite it being a preseason game, Wild star Matt Boldy got in a fight. Moments later, Marcus Foligno and Michael McCarron got in fights at the same time with around a mintue left in the third period down a goal.
At the same time, Zach Bogosian and Nick Foligno tied up guys on Dallas and tried to start a full on line brawl. Only Foligno and McCarron got punches in on Justin Hryckowian and Jamie Benn.
“Once the shenanigans went out, then we made the change in the lines,” Hynes said. “I think it’s just two teams that really don’t like each other too much.”
Before it all, Faber took a shot from Stars' forward Sam Steel from the point off the left side of his helmet. Faber went down to the ice quickly and eventually skated to the bench under his own power.
He did not return to the bench for the third period but did finish the second period after the play.
By the looks of it, it seems like Faber not playing the third would just be a precautionary thing considering he played the second period, but head coach John Hynes might have hinted at something different.
“As much as the compete was the last minute and a half, I’d say everyone was kind of at 85 to 90 percent, just trying to get in it and be smart and bring your brain back up to speed," Hynes said postgame. "But also get out of the game (healthy). Hopefully Brock is OK, but for the most part, I’m happy that everyone got out just feeling OK.”
The Wild worked on power play and special teams at Saturday's practice. Faber was not on the ice.
In line rushes, Jared Spurgeon was with Quinn Hughes. Jonas Brodin was with Olli Maatta and Daemon Hunt was with Bogosian. Carson Lambos was recalled and skated with David Spacek.
Hynes did not have an update after Friday's game but said on Saturday that Faber is doing better. They will still evaluate him in the next day or so. He is considered day-to-day for now.
The Wild will begin the regular season Oct. 1 on the road against the Nashville Predators before returning to St. Paul for their home opener Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
