Sasha Barkov out after high hit from Justin Abdelkader (Video)

Heading into the Florida Panthers’ game at the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, Aleksander Barkov had goals in each of his last four games.

He didn’t score against the Red Wings, because his night ended nearly midway through the second period.

Barkov collected the puck near his own net, and tried to send it up the boards. He was a bit crouched, a bit off-balance. Abdelkader met him with a hard hit that appeared to make principle contact with Barkov’s shoulder or chest before his head.

The Panthers forward dropped to the ice, before skating back to the bench. He didn’t see the ice after that hit, playing just 8:58 for the game.

Florida announced he was out with an “upper body injury.”

Hopefully this was just a precaution, as Barkov is having a heck of a season for the Panthers. 

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.