VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Phil Kessel and Frankie Corrado each absorbed a head injury Saturday night in the Penguins' 4-2 loss to the Canucks, but each also returned without any apparent issues, and each told DKPittsburghSports.com afterward that he felt fine.
Both happened in the second period, and both looked ugly:
That was Kessel getting slewfooted by Vancouver's Alexander Burmistrov. Watch Burmistrov's right skate kick out Kessel's left skate just as Erik Gudbranson applies his stick across Kessel's chest. Then watch Burmistrov, upon seeing the result of the back of Kessel's head slamming off the ice, almost instantly turn that skate back into a more conventional direction, then high-tail it away from the scene as if fleeing one of this city's infamous riots.
It remains to be seen if he'll just as easily escape the NHL's Department of Player Safety. And yes, I just typed that with a straight face.
Kessel remained down for a few seconds then, upon getting to the bench and shaking his head, was tapped on the shoulder by head athletic trainer Chris Stewart. The NHL's remote concussion spotter had informed the Penguins that Kessel had to go into the protocol, which requires a five-minute test for symptoms. Kessel returned to the game later in the period.
Actually, in general, he was one of the team's best players all night.
I asked Kessel how he was afterward, and he mostly just grumbled about the loss, the schedule, the lack of goals and other stuff. So he seemed pretty much himself. Even flashed a brief smile when I asked about this power-play setup in the first:
Earlier in the second, Corrado went headfirst into the glass above the Pittsburgh end boards, this after a clean check by Vancouver's Derek Dorsett. Driving a player like that could easily be boarding, except that Dorsett came from the side.
Corrado, too, was shaken up and went down the tunnel with Stewart for the protocol. He also returned later in the period and, after the game, told me he was "OK."