Avs' Lehkonen taken to hospital after going headfirst into boards
Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen was taken to the hospital as a precaution after going headfirst into the boards Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken, the team announced.
Lehkonen was alert, responsive, and had full movement, the team added.
Really scary play here. Lehkonen goes head-first into the boards after contact with Oleksiak. Just the smallest shove by Oleksiak threw him off balance. No penalty on the play.
— Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) November 10, 2023
Thankfully, Lehkonen was able to skate off, but he was moving very slowly and went down the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/uvtpRw5S7F
Lehkonen was able to skate off the ice on his own power.
"He's the last guy you want to see go down," teammate Andrew Cogliano told reporters postgame. "He's the ultimate warrior out there, he's a great teammate. You never want to see that."
The 28-year-old winger tallied a career-high 51 points in 64 games last season and entered Thursday with three goals and four assists in 11 contests in 2023-24.