‘Hard to watch’: Flames forward Connor Zary appears to re-injure left knee
Connor Zary, who missed 15 games earlier this season after a knee-on-knee collision, was injured again Thursday against the Dallas Stars
For the second time in less than three months, Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary was writhing in pain on the ice.
Just like the last time, the 23-year-old was clutching his left knee. Zary wasn’t putting any weight on that leg as a pair of teammates helped him toward the bench and tunnel.
“It’s hard to watch,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “You don’t ever want to see a player go through that. You see how hard they work to come back, with their rehab, to try to put themselves in a position to come back. So our hope now is that the work that he’s done has strengthened his knee up enough so that the injury isn’t serious.
“We won’t know more until later on, as to what it’s actually going to look like. But we’re hopeful, I will say.”
While there was a ton of frustration in the Flames’ locker-room after they had a pair of goals disallowed in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, that was mixed with concern about what had happened to their pal with roughly 13 minutes remaining in the third period.
There was no immediate update on the severity of Zary’s injury, no surprise since he’ll undoubtedly need further medical imaging to determine the extent.
However, it did not look good.
Zary’s lower-body crumpled under Rantanen’s weight and you could immediately tell that the Flames’ first-liner was in serious discomfort. As the whistle was blown, he flipped off his gloves, reaching with both hands for his left knee as head therapist Kent Kobelka hustled to his side.
“It makes you sick to your stomach,” said Flames alternate captain Blake Coleman in a post-game scrum. “He’s a great kid. He’s a big part of our team. He’s been through a lot. He worked hard to get back in the lineup and be a difference-maker for us.
“I haven’t been in there yet to hear what’s going on. But that’s where your mind goes after this game, immediately.”
