With the Penguins leading 2-1 in the second period of Thursday’s game against the Dallas Stars, veteran winger Pascal Dupuis went down to the ice after a battle in front of the net with defenseman Alex Goligoski. What happened next was incredibly scary.
Dupuis obviously seemed to go numb after the shot, flexing his hands as he went down the ice. He was eventually stretched off after being tended to by medical staff from both teams, but gave an optimistic thumbs-up as he left the ice.
Reports after the game are that Dupuis is at a local hospital and experienced numbness in his arm, but that he had started to regain feeling and all signs were that he would be okay. It was a scary moment, especially seeing Dupuis’ reaction after being hit, but the good news is that it seems everything will be okay.
The Penguins were notably concerned after the game.
“Well he got hit by the shot. He was knocked down in front of the net,” said Penguins coach Mike Johnston. “I didn’t see the replay on it yet and I don’t have any more information from the trainers other than he had some numbness in his arm and it was coming back. So that was a real positive sign. But I haven’t heard anything more. I’m sure they’re doing a lot of tests on him right now.”
For the Stars, it was a grim reminder of what the team went through last season.
“First and foremost, I hope he’s fine. I heard he’s fine. You never want to see that happen,” said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. “There was a lot of concern on both benches. Moments after that, it is tough. We’ve been around some tough situations and that one scared us as much as it scared the Penguins.”
The Stars would eventually go on to win the game, 3-2.