The Bruins got the kind of bounce-back effort they were looking for Saturday afternoon in Colorado, but there was one sight early in second period that they definitely didn’t want to see.
Center Marc Savard suffered an apparent head injury at 3:19 of the second when his head was driven into the glass above the boards by former Bruin defenseman Matt Hunwick. It was a clean hit with an unfortunate result, as Savard was left dazed and appeared to have been cut on the collision in the left corner of the Avalanche zone.
Savard did not return, and after the game Bruins coach Claude Julien announced that Savard would not accompany the team to its next game at Los Angeles on Monday.
“He’s going to be heading back home,” Julien said. “He got shook up obviously. For precautionary reasons we’re going to send him back home, get him evaluated by our own doctors.”
Savard was sidelined for the remainder of the regular season and the opening round of the playoffs last year after suffering a severe concussion on a blindside hit from Matt Cooke in Pittsburgh on March 7. Savard returned for the second round of the playoffs against Philadelphia, but suffered a recurrence of post-concussion syndrome symptoms over the summer and missed all of training camp and the first 23 games of this season before returning on Dec. 2.
Savard survived another scare last Saturday, on Jan. 15, when his head was hit into the boards on a check by Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Engelland. Savard stated he felt “woozy” after that game, but did not miss any games after that incident.
He will miss at least the upcoming game in L.A. this time, with a further update on his status to come after he returns to Boston and undergoes tests there.
