Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall may have been the luckiest guy on the ice Tuesday night when the Red Wings fell to the Blues 2-1.
The Wings defenseman was checked from behind into the boards head first by Chris Stewart of St. Louis in the first period last night.
“I think I got lucky there,” Kronwall, who hurt his shoulder, said. “I think it could have ended a lot worse.
“They brought me in (the dressing room) just in case, to do all the testing. When you take a hard hit, you feel it’s a good impact, but I was fine.”
Kronwall returned at the beginning of the second period while Stewart was ejected from the game. Stewart is also facing a disciplinary hearing with former Red Wing Brendan Shanahan where he could face suspension.
Blues center David Backes defended his teammate.
“Kronwall comes back,” Backes said. “(Stewart) has already been penalized for five (minutes) and missing the game … a five-minute power play against Detroitcan be a death sentence.
“I don’t know. You look at the criteria put forth. (Stewart) has never been suspended before, never had a hearing before. Kronwall looks injured on the play, but he comes back. Is it an ugly hit? Yeah, it’s not pretty. But he’s a hard-nosed guy that has to play with that edge to be effective out there.”
In other news, Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi isn’t scheduled to re-join the team during their four game road trip as he continues to recover from swelling in the ear and a sinus infection.
Ref: Mlive.com, YouTube, ESPN.com (image)