Nick Jensen knocked out by dirty hit, stretchered off for Capitals

A scary scene in Washington this evening as Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen was taken hard into the boards with a late, dirty hit, leading to the veteran blueliner being knocked unconscious and stretchered off the ice.

With the playoffs set to kick off next weekend, there are a number of teams who are attempting to scratch and claw their way into a playoff spot with limited games remaining. The Washington Capitals are one of those teams, and unfortunately, if they want to get to the postseason, they'll have to do it without one of their top defensemen.

During tonight's game between the Capitals and Lightning, Tampa forward Mikey Eyssimont attempted to engage with Jensen in the neutral zone. The problem was that Jensen had already distributed the puck and was no longer eligible to be hit. Unfortunately, Eyssimont did not let up, finishing a hard check on Jensen in a dangerous area, just a couple of feet away from the boards. Jensen was knocked unconscious on the play. All anyone could do was simply look on while the stretcher came out for Jensen.




For Eyssimont, I'd anticipate a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for this hit. It's just one of those plays that doesn't belong in the game. Jensen was not in possession of the puck at the time of the hit and with how the hit was thrown, there was really no reason for it, other than Eyssimont attempting to injure his opponent.

Thankfully, per an official update from the Capitals, Jensen was "conscious, alert and has the use of all his extremities", which is very good news, given how bad the hit looked. Best wishes to Jensen for a quick recovery.