Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Evans taken off on stretcher after hit by Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele
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The Montreal Canadiens’ 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their second-round series was overshadowed by a scary scene in the final minute.
Canadiens forward Jake Evans was taken off the ice at Winnipeg’s Bell MTS Place on a stretcher after he sustained a brutal hit from Jets forward Mark Scheifele while scoring into an empty net with 57 seconds to go.
Evans remained motionless for a significant amount of time as a scrum formed near him following the hit. A referee and a Jets player made sure the scrum did not spill onto Evans. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and trainers and medical personnel attended to Evans, placing him on a backboard and taking him out on a stretcher.
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Scheifele, the Jets’ leading scorer in the regular season with 63 points in 56 games, received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the hit. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety will almost certainly be taking a look at the play.
“It was a dirty hit, but the league is going to take care of it,” Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson said. “If he gets back in the series, we’re going to make life miserable for him.”
Said the Habs’ Brendan Gallagher in an interview with Sportsnet: “We’ve all played this game long enough. (Scheifele) knows better than that. I know him. I don’t want to comment too much. We were just told to let the league handle it. We trust that they will, but, I don’t know.
“It’s brutal. Didn’t need to happen. Wrong play. He knows better.”
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Evans skated 17:55 on Wednesday, which marked his 25th birthday. The second-year player got in three games in Montreal’s first-round comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs – including Games 6 and 7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Montreal Canadiens’ Jake Evans taken off on stretcher after hit by Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele