All Aboard the Phaneuf Train..
Just a heads up to all New York Islander fans out there: The season is not starting off well. If many of you haven’t heard since the preseason games of the Islanders aren’t brodcasting on television, three players have already been injured through the second preseason game. Two nights ago Doug Weight and Frans Nielsen both left the game with injuries and last night marked a night that forward Kyle Okposo will never forget or actually he probably might. While coming down center ice, Okposo tries to split two defenders of the Calgary Flames and break through the middle, not realizing that one of those defensemen was Dion Phaneuf, a 6’3” giant of a hockey player. Okposo is bumped from behind and takes a look down at the puck, and next thing you know, Okposo is drilled by Phaneuf and slammed to the ice. After watching the play several times, it looked like a clean hit with the shoulder. Phaneuf didn’t leave his feet only after the hit and by then there was already fights starting across the ice. This is probably one of the biggest hits I have ever seen and rightfully so, dished out by one of the biggest guys in hockey. On skates, Phaneuf must be at least 6’6”. After the hit, Okposo is taken off on a stretcher, but reports have said that he doesn’t have anything broken, probably just a concussion. But rule one of hockey is always keep your head up, a lesson that Kyle Okposo learned last night after being drilled by Dion Phaneuf.
Check out the clip:
