Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Thoresen had to be helped off the ice after he was struck in the groin area by Mike Green's shot with less than 14 minutes to go in last night's game. He did not return and was taken to Washington Hospital Center.
Green crossed from the left to the right side of the blue line, took a pass from Ovechkin and tied the game on a slap shot shortly after Thoresen went down.
"He's going to the hospital to get an ultrasound done on his testicles. It's bad enough they may have to remove one," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said after the game last night. "Right now, we're not sure how serious it is, but there's a chance he may need surgery.
The Caps celebrated while Thoresen lay on the ice.
Philadelphia coach John Stevens said the play should have been whistled dead, since the puck was not going to the net immediately when Thoresen went down.
"If the puck was on the play going to the net, I could see holding off, but clearly the guy's in a lot of pain on the ice," Stevens said. "But the explanation we got is that if it looked like he was in danger, if it was above the upper body area, then they would've blown it down."
Reaction among Flyers players wasn't as strong as Stevens'. Right wing Mike Knuble said the team knew Thoresen was hurt because "he's not the type of player who flops," and added the officials made the right call.
Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron said he wasn't expecting the play to be blown dead, and at least outwardly, didn't question the decision to keep playing.
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Originally Posted by Sabres244
