Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom left early in the first period on Wednesday night after suffering an apparent injury.
Making his first start since Oct. 28, Backstrom lasted only 10 minutes into the matchup against the Maple Leafs before he was forced to take an early exit. The netminder was on the receiving end of a brutal hit from Toronto’s Nazem Kadri, who barreled into the goalie, appearing to hit Backstrom in the head with his elbow.
Backstrom stayed down on the ice for about 30 seconds after the collision, but opted to stay in the game initially. The 35-year-old ended up leaving the game just a couple of minutes later, making way for Josh Harding, who was originally given the night off because of an illness.
Kadri was given a minor penalty for goalie interference on the play.
Check out the nasty hit in the GIF below.
