Nashville's Fiala leaves on stretcher with leg injury

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Nashville forward Kevin Fiala was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he hurt his left leg during Game 1 of the Predators’ second-round series against St. Louis on Wednesday night.

Fiala was hit by Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and went hard into the boards behind the St. Louis net at 1:46 of the second period. The injury led to a 17-minute delay while Fiala received medical attention.

”It was tough,” Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said. ”You never want to see a young kid go down like that and be taken off on a stretcher. I’ve experienced it before and it’s not fun, especially for your family and friend so we hope he’s OK.”

Fiala was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. The team says he is ”alert and in stable condition.”

The Predators responded with a Subban goal 36 seconds after play resumed. Nashville went on to win 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

”Obviously responded very well with that goal, but it’s hard to see your teammate go down like that,” Predators center Colin Wilson said. ”I feel for him. Great teammate, great player. Going to have to rally around him.”

The 20-year-old Fiala was selected by Nashville with the 11th pick in the 2014 draft. He scored two goals in the Predators’ first-round sweep against the Blackhawks.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette told reporters after the game that the team would update Fiala’s status at a later time. He was happy with how the team handled the delay.

”Our player, their player, nobody likes to see that happen at all and both teams are dealing with that,” Laviolette said. ”Our guys were saying the right things. The leaders on the team were going up and down the bench and saying the right things and shortly after that we scored a goal.”