Jordan Nolan had a bit of a rough return to NHL action on Wednesday night as his Kings took on the Avs in Colorado. Not only did Nolan catch an elbow to the head in the first period that should have been penalized (it wasn’t), he also proceeded to lay some self-inflicted damage on himself.
Nolan attempted to deliver a big open-ice hit on an Avalanche player in the second period, but his target managed to avoid the collision at the last second. Nolan caught only air before crashing hard into the shortboards in front of the Kings’ bench.
Nolan’s shoulder caught the brunt of the impact and the forward remained motionless on the ice for a tense half-minute or so. He eventually was able to get up and walk to the locker room under his own power, where he was checked out before returning to the game a few shifts later.
I’m sure he’ll be sore after the beating he’s taken tonight, but a lot of people – including this lady seated behind Darryl Sutter – probably thought Nolan inflicted a lot more damage to himself than he actually did.
[NBCSN]
