CHICAGO – The team and fans might not have been as concerned about the result Tuesday night at the United Center as they were about one of the Blackhawks’ player.
But after a scary hit suffered in the second period Tuesday night against the Rangers, the team had good news to report on forward Jujhar Khaira on Wednesday.
Per Blackhawks head physician Dr. Michael Terry, the Blackhawks forward was released from Northwestern Hospital early this morning and returned home after testing. The prognosis for Khaira is “excellent,” but the team set no timetable for the forward to return.
In the second period of Tuesday’s game, Khaira was going for a puck toward the boards with his head down. When he looked up, he was hit by New York’s Jacob Trouba in the head and was knocked out, then fell to the ice where Khaira head again.
Athletic trainers were examining Khaira for several minutes before he was eventually stretchered off the ice by paramedics and taken to Northwestern hospital.
After the game, a 6-2 loss to the Rangers, interim head coach Derek King confirmed that Khaira was awake and alert, speaking with those with him in the hospital. He didn’t want to speculate on whether Trouba’s hit was intentional or could warrant discipline from the NHL.
“Right now, we can’t worry about that. We’ve just got to worry about making sure he’s OK,” said King. “Like I said, injuries like that are not fun and we just hope for a speedy recovery.”