SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -Carolina Hurricanes forward Erik Cole was removed from the ice on a stretcher in the third period Monday night and taken to a hospital after colliding with Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun.
Cole was released from the Cleveland Clinic in Weston later Monday night and was cleared to fly after a CT scan was negative.
He was expected to join the Hurricanes’ flight to Tampa on Tuesday morning and will continue to be monitored by the team’s medical staff, Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement.
Cole was injured at 12:34 as he was driving to the net. He was checked from behind by defenseman Jassen Cullimore and crashed headfirst into Vokoun’s pads.
“He was saying, ‘Something is wrong with my neck,”’ Vokoun said after Carolina’s 4-3 victory. “He didn’t want to move. It’s tough. It’s a contact game. Things like that can happen, unfortunately.”
Cole remained motionless for several minutes before being taken off the ice.
“From what I understand, he had movement in his limbs,” Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. “He had some pain in his trapezoid area, and I think with his previous injury, not knowing what’s going on in there, it’s just better to be safe.”
The veteran of six NHL seasons is less than two years removed from a serious neck injury. Cole sustained a fractured vertebra on March 4, 2006, when he was boarded by Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik.
He missed the remainder of that regular season and Carolina’s first 23 playoff games before making a surprise return to the Hurricanes lineup for the final two contests of the Stanley Cup finals when the team won its only NHL championship.
Cole’s teammates were encouraged by the early reports of his condition.
“He had a stinger feeling going down both sides of his body,” Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. “I know on the ice he had some strength in his arms and movement in his legs.”
Add A Comment
THIS IS NOT A GAMBLING SITE – If you think you have a gambling problem click here.
Disclaimer: This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Individual users are responsible for the laws regarding accessing gambling information from their jurisdictions. Many countries around the world prohibit gambling, please check the laws in your location. Any use of this information that may violate any federal, state, local or international law is strictly prohibited.
Copyright: The information contained on TheSpread.com website is protected by international copyright and may not be reproduced, or redistributed in any way without expressed written consent.
About: TheSpread.com is the largest sports betting news site in the United States. We provide point spread news, odds, statistics and information to over 175 countries around the world each year. Our coverage includes all North American College and Professional Sports as well as entertainment, political and proposition wagering news.
©1999-2023 TheSpread.com