06/05/26 09:53:00
Printable Page
06/05 09:51 CDT Vegas D-man Brayden McNabb's Stanley Cup Final status is
unclear after taking a puck to the face
Vegas D-man Brayden McNabb's Stanley Cup Final status is unclear after taking a
puck to the face
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) --- The status of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden
McNabb moving forward in the Stanley Cup Final is unclear after he took a puck
to the face in Game 2.
Coach John Tortorella had no update on McNabb on Friday other than to confirm
the 35-year-old was traveling home with the team. Game 3 is Saturday in Las
Vegas.
McNabb left Thursday night's game after taking an 87.3 mph slap shot from
Nikolaj Ehlers square in the face just past the midway point of the first
period. McNabb dropped his stick, went down to the ice and grabbed his nose as
he skated immediately off and down the tunnel.
"It's a scary play," forward Brett Howden said. "You never want to see that.
Just hope he's doing all right."
Vegas went the rest of the way with just five defensemen. McNabb's exit had a
domino effect that led those guys to playing more minutes than usual, and in
particular Jeremy Lauzon was on the ice for all four Carolina goals, with one
shot banking in off him, another partially the result of him losing a
one-on-one battle with William Carrier and Seth Jarvis' overtime winner going
past him.
"You lose a guy like Nabber who logs heavy minutes, such a good teammate, plays
the game so hard, it's tough," captain Mark Stone said. "They battled as hard
as they could."
McNabb was coming off the first three-assist performance of his NHL career in
Game 1. He is one of three original Golden Knights players who have been around
for the franchise's entire nine-year existence and are in the final for a third
time.
"He's a vital part of this team," said center William Karlsson, who also has
been around since the beginning. "He's been here for a long time and has been
vital every year. I think he is extremely good defensively, helps us out in PK
situations and stuff like that. Of course, tough to not have him for the
remainder of that game."
The Golden Knights had their optimum, healthy lineup back for the series opener
when Lauzon returned from his puck-to-the-head injury that had sidelined him
since the second round. That did not last long.
Either Ben Hutton, a left-handed shooter, or Kaedan Korczak, who was playing in
place of Lauzon, figures to play in Game 3 on Saturday if McNabb is unavailable.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
|
