The Vancouver Canucks say rookie forward Elias Pettersson is in concussion protocol while center Jay Beagle is out six weeks with a broken forearm.
Pettersson was injured when he was taken hard into the end boards and slammed to the ice by Florida defenseman Mike Matheson in the third period of Vancouver’s 3-2 win Saturday. There was no penalty on the play.
The 19-year-old Swedish center appeared woozy afterward and needed assistance to get to the locker room. He did not return to the game. After the game, Canucks coach Travis Green called the hit “a dirty play.”
Matheson was suspended two games for interference/unsportsmanlike conduct by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Monday.
Beagle was injured in the same game after blocking a shot.
The loss of Pettersson for any significant length of time will be a blow to the rebuilding Canucks. The rising star has five goals and three assists in five games this season after being selected fifth overall by the Canucks in the 2017 NHL draft.
Beagle, a veteran center, signed a four-year contract worth an average of $3 million per year with the Canucks on July 1. He helped the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup last season.
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