Add Jamie Benn to the list of injured NHL stars, after he got leveled by Martin Hanzal late in the third period of Dallas' 2-1 loss in Phoenix.
Jamie Benn injury: Stars center leaves after Martin Hanzal hit
Benn has had concussion issues in the past, but it wasn’t immediately clear what his injury was.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
As Benn carried the puck into the zone off the rush, Hanzal started to line him up for a hit. Benn let the puck go toward the net and Hanzal came in half a second later with a devastating high hit. Benn laid on the ice for a few seconds before woozily skating off toward the locker room.
It didn’t look like Hanzal led with his elbow, and the play didn’t exactly look malicious. As expected, the two fanbases had completely different interpretations of what they saw:
Whether the hit was dirty or not isn’t as important as Benn’s status, as losing their star forward for an extended period would be a horrible loss for Dallas.
Stars coach Glen Guluztan didn't have any information after the game:
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan had no update on Jamie Benn. On the hit, Gulutzan said: "I thought it was late, but that is not for me to decide."
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) March 9, 2013
