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| David Krejci sustained a concussion in overtime Saturday night after being levelled into the boards by Blues forward T.J. Oshie (74). |
However, the real storyline occurred less than a minute into overtime when wrecking ball T.J. Oshie absolutely plastered Bruins' center David Krejci with a devastating hit near the penalty box, slamming Krejci first into the side boards and then violently down to the ice. The 24-year-old slick pivot laid face down on the ice for an uncomfortably long amount of time before being helped to the dressing room by teammates Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference. As of today, the Bruins have remained mum, disclosing only that Krejci sustained a concussion and will be out "at least a week."
If Bruins fans have learned anything over the past few seasons it's that sustaining the actual hit isn't always the worst part of a concussion, but instead the after affects that can plague a player for months on end, known as post-concussion syndrome. For evidence, look no further than fellow centermen Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard. After being crushed into the boards from behind by Flyers' goon Randy Jones early in the 2007-08 season, Bergeron was knocked unconscious and removed from the game on a stretcher, a scary sight that Bruins fans hope never to see again. For months he battled paralyzing migraines, couldn't sleep and got nauseous just from standing up. Bergeron was forced to miss the remainder of the season and never truly regained his form until last year.
Same with Savard. After sustaining a cheap shot to the back of the head last March courtesy of Matt Cooke's elbow, Savard missed nearly two months before heroically returning in the second round of the playoffs. He went on to score a monumental overtime goal against the Flyers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, however Savard may have been rushed back too soon, as he has yet to appear in a game this season due to post-concussion syndrome.
If it's any consolation, despite its overtly violent nature, Oshie's hit on Krejci appeared to be legal (he led with his shoulder, just like all young hockey players are taught to do), unlike the cheap shots delivered by Jones and Cooke. Nonetheless, the Bruins lose one of their best playmakers for an undetermined amount of time and are now forced to deal with yet another concussion and its unknown after affects. For the Bruins' sake, and Krejci's, let's hope this story has a different ending, one with a healthy Krejci back on the ice as soon as possible.
Now here's some good, sharp, professional writing -- action verbs, varied vocabulary, consistent tone, varied sentence structure and linguistic complexity. As our language skills(i.e. capitalization, punctuation and all the rest of that stuff you learned in the third grade) continue to fade away, It's gratifying to read a piece like this. Now if you can add some literary/cinematic reference....??
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