Nashville Predators defenceman Mark Borowiecki had to be stretchered off after he was injured during his team’s 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Six minutes into the game, Borowiecki was body checked by Flyers forward Morgan Frost while attempting to play the puck alongside the boards. The 216 lb defenceman lay motionless on the ice for several minutes following the hit, with medics assessing his predicament before placing him on a stretcher to be evacuated from the rink. Flyers players gave Borowiecki stick taps as he was transported from the ice as a mark of respect. No penalty was given against Frost despite Borowiecki’s condition.
“It’s never comforting when you see a player or teammate go down in that fashion,” Predators coach John Hynes remarked after witnessing Borowiecki’s collapse. “I think when you saw it right away, when he hit the boards and then he went right down, you could tell it was a serious incident.”
Nashville later tweeted an update on Borowiecki’s injury, explaining that the player had movement in all his extremities and that he had been transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
According to Hynes, Borowiecki has overcome the most serious part of his injury and is now on the path to recovery.
