The worst was feared when Johnny Boychuk didnt return to Saturday nights 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators after getting bulldozed by a Chris Neil hit.
The Bs defenseman was obliterated with a clean, punishing hit when Ottawas bowling ball of a forward caught Boychuk with his head down in the corner, and both playersBoychuk and Neiltook their time getting up to recover after the car-crash collision.
The 28-year-old Boychuk was sent to the Quiet Room and checked out the Sens team doctors while the third period was unfolding before flying home with the rest of his victorious Bruins teammates.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli told CSNNE.com that his defenseman was still a little foggy on Sunday afternoon nearly 24 hours after the collision, and that the team would have a full update on Boychuks situation Monday morning.
A source close to Boychuk said that the defenseman is okay and should be good to go for the next tilt, so thats a good piece of news for both the team and the dazed player. But potential concussions and fallout from shots to the head can take days to fully materialize, so nobody will know for certain that defenseman is in the clear until Boychuk suits up with his teammates for team practice.
One encouraging sign for Boychuk: Andrew Bodnarchuk was sent to Providence on Sunday along with Josh Hennessy with the Bs marathon six-game road trip over, and the Bruins wouldnt ship the extra defenseman out if they expected Boychuk to miss meaningful practice time and games.
So the news is good for Boychukas the concussion word hasnt been uttered yet in any of the chatter from team officialsbut the true verdict will come down on Monday morning as the Bruins deal with NHL trade deadline day.