VANCOUVER 鈥� The sight of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman lying on the ice in pain has his teammates worried about his status.
Hyman left Sunday鈥檚 game against the Vancouver Canucks with a knee injury in the second period and did not return. Toronto went on to lose 3-2 in overtime.聽
Hyman was injured on a knee-on-knee collision with Canucks defenceman Alex Edler.
鈥淚t was tough. He鈥檚 such a huge player for our team,鈥� said William Nylander. 鈥淗opefully he鈥檒l be fine. It was a pretty dirty hit.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a leader on the ice and off the ice ... The way he cares for other guys is incredible. He鈥檚 a huge part of this team.鈥�
The collision happened 10 minutes into the second period when Edler took out Hyman right in front of the Leafs bench.
The left-winger dropped hard to the ice and stayed down for several minutes before the play ended and a trainer came to his aid. Hyman went directly to the locker room and did not return to the game.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a warrior, he kind of does it all for us every night,鈥� said Toronto goaltender Jack Campbell. 鈥淗e鈥檚 such a valuable guy on our team and in the dressing room. He works so hard every single night for our team, does everything he can to help us win. It鈥檚 obviously a huge loss every time he leaves the lineup.鈥�
The Leafs' bench vocally expressed their displeasure with the play and it was reviewed, with officials determining Edler had committed a knee-on-knee hit. He was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
Canucks coach Travis Green said he didn鈥檛 think there was any ill intent in the hit.
鈥淓ddie鈥檚 obviously a hard player,鈥� said Green. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a dirty player. He doesn鈥檛 try to hurt players ever and I don鈥檛 think that was the case there.鈥�
It鈥檚 not the first time Hyman has suffered a knee injury. The gritty forward injured his knee in the first round of the 2019 NHL playoffs and underwent surgery.
鈥淲e just hope he鈥檚 OK, such an integral part of our group,鈥� said John Tavares. 鈥淭he element he brings to our team, you can鈥檛 replace that. Hopefully it鈥檚 nothing too serious. He鈥檚 battled through so many things in my time being here, the competitor he is. He plays such a key role for us.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2021
The Canadian Press
