Two of the best two-way players in hockey suffered injuries in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and at least one side is hopeful their respective injury won’t be too bad.
Jonathan Toews suffered some sort of injury in the second period, and while returned to the bench for the third period, he didn’t see the ice. Toews didn’t skate a single shift in the final period as Chicago eventually held on for the 3-1 win.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn’t offer any sort of firm update on Toews after the game, other than to say it was an upper-body injury.
“We’re hopeful he’ll be ready next game,” Quenneville told reporters. “Upper-body. We’ll see how he feels next game.”
Toews did take a huge hit from Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk in the second period. The hit appeared to get Toews up above the chest or in the head, so it makes sense that may have been the cause of the injury. However, Quenneville wasn’t willing to admit that.
“I don’t think it was a defining blow,” he said of the Boychuk hit. “I’m not sure of the incident [that led to the injury].”
Bruins center Patrice Bergeron was also injured in the second period. He left the rink following the second period and went to the hospital for further evaluation. Toews and Bergeron have won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in the last two years.
