The games don’t matter yet, so fights don’t usually get all that serious during the National Hockey League (NHL) preseason, but this one definitely did.
The trouble started in the third period when Vancouver Canucks center Zack MacKewen and Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian started going at it. During the fight, Kassian’s helmet came off, and he fell to the ice, striking his head.
Kassian lay motionless and required assistance to get up and leave the ice.
Despite the scary fall, after the game, Oilers coach Dave Tippett said Kassian was doing well.
“He’s got a pretty good bump on his head from hitting the ice but he was in good spirits and was telling jokes when I came and saw him after the game. It’s one of those ones that upsets you when that happens. … We’ll see where he is tomorrow,” Tippett told reporters.
The NHL regular season begins on October 16th.