02:58 PM
04/16/24
04/16/24
March 22, 2010
Flames' Langkow Hit in Neck by Puck, Carried Off Ice: Calgary Flames center Daymond Langkow was hit with a puck in the back of the neck between the shoulder blades in Sunday's game against the Minnesota Wild. He was removed from the ice on a stretcher and hospitalized overnight. Early signs are good and he has feeling and motion in his extremities, but doctors are still running tests. See the video.
I was watching the game on TV and saw this happen. It was weird to see this at first, because it looked like the puck hit him somewhere on the front of his body up high (neck/head). But the replay had a great view of him falling forward and taking the shot in the back of his neck. It was a freak accident and Greg Zanon did nothing different than what happens dozens of times in the slot area during a game. He happened to fall forward at a really bad time.
Kudos to the training staff for recognizing the injury and taking steps right away to immobilize him on-ice. Having worked as an EMT, I know the importance of those actions and it's possible that his prognosis has been greatly improved because of what they did. I hope he suffers no long-term effects.