One of the Islanders big acquisitions during the offseason was center Mikhail Grabovski. The Islanders added a great piece of depth and were hoping for a player that could live up to his 20+ goals per season potential. Three games into the 2014-15 NHL season, and Grabovski is well on his way to attaining that with two goals. His season became questionable last night, however, after Grabovski found himself on the receiving end of a huge hit from the San Jose Sharks John Scott.
Scott stands in at 6′ 8″ without skates on, and weighs in at a whopping 270 pounds. He is definitely a guy that you don’t want to run into when your head is down.
Unfortunately for Grabovski, that’s the way the play unfolded last night. After turning around with the puck near the left wing boards, Grabovski was absolutely steamrolled by Scott.
Typically a hit involving John Scott would call for a lot of complaints about how he he is a goon and shouldn’t even be in the league. The goon part isn’t even up for debate, it’s a fact, but the hit that Scott laid on Grabovski here looked relatively clean. He didn’t appear to target the head or have any intent to injure Grabovski. On this play it was just a matter of Grabovski running straight into a brick wall.
The good news for Grabovski and the Islanders is that he did not suffer a concussion on the play. He will be re-evaluated at some point today, but the training staff will likely be looking at an upper body injury rather than a concussion. According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, he will be out indefinitely and has not made the trip to Pittsburgh this weekend.
Have heard that Mikhail Grabovski does not have a concussion. Upper body injury will be evaluated tomorrow. #Isles
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) October 17, 2014
Grabovski won't travel to Pittsburgh with #Isles. Out indefinitely is all I've heard.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) October 17, 2014
Take a look at the video below of John Scott’s big hit. Drop us a note in the comments below with your thoughts on the play.
