A 2-1 defeat by the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers wasn't the only loss the Vancouver Canucks suffered on Monday night.
The Canucks lost top pairing defenceman Alex Edler to a horrific facial injury after his face slammed hard against the ice surface. During the third period, Edler was positioned in front of the Canucks' net in an attempt to impede Voracek's path to the crease when his stick got wedged in Voracek's skate.As he fell, Edler's body awkwardly contorted, causing his face to faceplant onto the ice surface before sliding into the far goal post.
A GIF of the injury can be found by clicking here.
Edler remained down on the ice for several minutes, as players and fans looked on in a state of shock. A stretcher was brought out to escort the bloody 32-year-old off the ice.
After the incident, Canucks fans, media members and spectators showed their support in what was a horrific injury.
Following the game, the Canucks announced that Edler would be undergoing x-rays to determine the exact diagnosis of the injury.
As per The Province's Ben Kuzma, Edler didn't travel with the team to Washington for their game against the Capitals on Tuesday night.
Edler leads all blueliners on the team in ice time (23:24) and points (five goals, 15 assists).
"That was scary," said Bo Horvat to reporters post-game.
"You never want to see a teammate go down like that, especially your best defenceman. You see a guy get knocked unconscious like that and then you see all the blood. We wanted to get that (win) for him and we deserved better tonight.”
