BURSTNothing went right for the Minnesota Wild against the Florida Panthers Wednesday night. But worse than the final score was the fact the team’s No. 1 defenceman left the game injured.
Brock Faber was struck in the face by a puck in the final minute of Wednesday’s game. The shot came from Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen, who pounced on the rebound off Faber’s face and buried the final goal in a 6-1 victory for Florida.
Faber quickly got to his feet and skated off the ice, leaving his stick and gloves behind. The 22-year-old rushed to the Wild locker room but after the game head coach John Hynes did not have an update on his condition.
“There’s always concern,” Hynes told the Athletic’s Joe Smith when asked about his concern level over Faber. “He got hit in the upper area — don’t know exactly where it was. But for him to still being evaluated, there’s obviously concern for him. First and foremost that he is OK, because I don’t have that knowledge now”
Faber is an important player for the Wild, who are off to a good start to the season. He leads the team with over 25 minutes of ice time per game and has 17 points from the back end. He was the youngest player selected to represent the United States at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
If Faber misses any amount of time, it would add to an already battered blueline for the Wild as Jakub Lauko (lower-body) and Jacob Middleton (hand) are both already out of the lineup.
