Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty suffered a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra as a result of a check by Zdeno Chara Tuesday night, but the Boston defenseman will not be fined or suspended.
Montreal coach Jacques Martin said Wednesday Pacioretty fractured the fourth cervical vertebra, "but it's not displaced. Max will remain at the hospital for further observation. There will be no other prognosis for the time being, but he will obviously be out indefinitely."
“What I remember about it was the sound -- it sounded like a gun: bang!
” -- Scott Gomez
The fourth cervical vertebra is approximately in the middle of the neck.
"The players feel for their teammate," Martin said. "Max is a popular teammate. He is a young player learning the ropes of playing in the National Hockey League and he had some great mentors here."
Because Chara received a game misconduct for the incident, the play was reviewed by the league, but NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy said in a statement that he found "no basis to impose supplemental discipline."
The Slovakian defender didn't think a suspension was warranted for what he termed an unfortunate accident, and the league agreed.
"This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly -- with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards," Murphy said in the statement. "I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous."
Pacioretty Chara made contact with Pacioretty as the two were chasing the puck alongside the Bruins' bench with 15.8 seconds left in the second period. The hit sent Pacioretty face-first into the stanchion at the end of the bench and he crumpled to the ice.
After he lay motionless for a period of time, Pacioretty, 22, was put into a neck brace, immobilized on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.
"What I remember about it was the sound -- it sounded like a gun: bang!" Pacioretty's linemate Scott Gomez said. "Stuff like that is tough to look at."
Pacioretty's parents were at Bell Centre to watch the game.
"It makes your guts hurt," goalie Carey Price said. "I can't imagine being a parent, watching your kid get hit like that."
At Bruins practice Wednesday, Chara said the incident has been bothering him.
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Richard Wolowicz/Getty ImagesCanadiens forward Max Pacioretty was hospitalized after a Zdeno Chara hit sent him face-first into the stanchion at the end of Boston's bench."It's been hard. Obviously, I feel bad about what happened," Chara said. "I'm trained to make a strong hockey play and play hard. It's unfortunate the player got hurt and had to leave the game. Obviously, it is on my mind."
The referees gave Chara a five-minute major for interference and a 10-minute and game misconduct.
The referees then ended the period with time left on the clock. The Canadiens went on to beat the Bruins 4-1.
Chara briefly spoke to the media after the game. The Bruins' captain expressed concern for Pacioretty but said he wasn't trying to hurt him.
"I'm battling for position and as the puck went by I was riding him out and it's very unfortunate that at the same time I push him a little bit he leaned over and jumped a little bit and just hit the glass extension," Chara said.
Pacioretty has 14 goals and 24 points this season, both career highs. The left winger was Montreal's first-round pick in 2007.
"The most important thing for our organization right now is Max's recovery," Martin said. "We will continue following recommendations from the doctors and of course, Max and his immediate family would appreciate privacy in this matter."
The teams play each other one more time this season, March 24 in Boston.
Information from ESPNBoston.com's Joe McDonald and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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