Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Cale Makar In Concussion Protocol Again

02/21/2023 at 2:40pm EST

from Peter Baugh of The Athletic,

Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar is back in concussion protocol after a collision with Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko on Saturday in St. Louis, leading to his absence Sunday in a home game against Edmonton, coach Jared Bednar confirmed Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Makar got hurt in his first game back after sustaining a head injury on Feb. 7 in Pittsburgh and was originally considered day to day with an upper-body injury, Colorado said. Against the Penguins, he took a Jeff Carter shoulder to the head but returned after passing concussion protocols. The next morning, he woke up feeling symptoms and missed the next four games.
  • Against St. Louis, Makar and Toropchenko collided on an Avalanche power play. Toropchenko’s arm struck Makar’s face. The defenseman left the game initially but once again returned to play; Bednar said Tuesday that Makar once again had delayed concussion symptoms.
  • Colorado does not play again until Friday in Winnipeg, then returns home to play the Flames on Saturday. Makar will miss the weekend’s games.

Each city has an independent spotter that pulls players who they believe might have suffered a concussion. The player then gets evaluated by the trainers and doctors. In the Pittsburgh game, the spotter pulled Makar to go through protocol.

But in St. Louis, the spotter did not pull Makar from the game, according to an Avalanche spokesman, despite the fact that the defenseman grabbed his face after the play. Makar told the Colorado Springs Gazette postgame that he “got kind of bruised on the nose, just because I think my visor hit it.”

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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