Samuel Girard was slow to get up tonight in Vegas after a trip from Brett Howden sent the Penguins defenseman crashing into the boards.
Gino Hard shared the sequence as Pittsburgh waited to learn more.
The frame shows a tangle near the faceoff circle, with one player sprawled on the ice as the puck slides away toward the boards.
That's a dangerous trip. Taking a player's feet out that close to the boards is how a routine play turns into a long absence.
It's like pulling a chair out from under someone standing next to a wall. Nobody plans for the wall to be part of it.
Girard has 7 points on a $5,000,000 cap hit.
Only Erik Karlsson, with 8 assists, has more points among Pittsburgh's defensemen.
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Samuel Girard's ugly fall after Brett Howden trip raises injury fears
Karlsson carries an $11,500,000 cap hit and would have to soak up even more minutes if Girard misses time.
Trevor van Riemsdyk is out until at least Oct 19 with a lower-body injury.
Egor Chinakhov is also out until at least Oct 22.
Pittsburgh came in at 3-4-1 after a 5-2 loss in Colorado on Friday.
Tonight is the back half of a back-to-back for the Penguins.
Howden has 6 points on a $2,500,000 cap hit.
Vegas came in at 7-2-0, with Jack Eichel leading the way at 16 points.
Mitch Marner has added 9 points, and Ryan Craig's group had won two straight coming in.
The Golden Knights are without Victor Olofsson until at least Nov 2 and Parker Wotherspoon until at least Oct 20.
Evgeni Malkin has 4 goals for Pittsburgh, while Sidney Crosby sits at -4.
Arturs Silovs sits at .875 and Sergei Murashov at .911 in the Pittsburgh crease.
Dan Muse can't afford to lose another defenseman on this trip.
Does the league take a closer look at the trip?
Pittsburgh visits Utah on Monday before hosting Florida on Thursday.
Slow to get up can mean anything. The Penguins will be hoping it means nothing more than a scare.
Should Brett Howden face supplemental discipline for the trip on Samuel Girard?
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