The scene that unfolded Thursday in Montreal was all too familiar for Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty.
He, along with everyone else in a silent Bell Centre, watched as defenseman P.K. Subban was carried off the ice on a stretcher with an apparent neck injury. The incident came almost five years to the day when Pacioretty himself suffered a fractured vertebrae after being leveled into a stanchion by Zdeno Chara.
Pacioretty was therefore understandably shaken after witnessing something similar unfold.
"I've been in that position before and it brings back a lot of tough memories, so it was really hard for me to watch," he told reporters after the game.
"It was tough to play after that," Pacioretty admitted. "It was impossible to concentrate after that, maybe me more so than a lot of the other guys. Now I know how guys felt when that happened to me, and all we can be now is supportive and hope for the best."
The latest update on Subban is that he has been released from hospital and is day to day with a non-serious neck injury.
