Hockey Beat - Hockey News

Atlanta Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk Injured

by Jeanne on January 31st, 2008

Oh no!  Atlanta Thrashers star, Ilya Kovalchuk, appears to have been injured during his first game since his All-Star weekend appearance (gotta be girly for a second and say that it wasn’t until this weekend that I realized how smokin’ hot he is!  Okay, I’m done).  Kovalchuk was hurt in the second period in a knee-on-knee hit with Pittsburgh Penguin, Jarkko Ruutu.  Kovalchuk tried to return for one shift but ultimately missed the third period.  Team doctors will look at his knee sometime today.

“You can’t keep him off the ice,” Thrashers general manager and coach Don Waddell said. “He was determined to come out and at least test it.

“These kind of injuries, you always wait until the next day and see how the swelling is and just see how he reacts from it.”

Kovalchuk’s teammate Steve McCarthy immediately took the matter into his own hands and crashed into Ruutu which led to a little punching. 

“I meant to finish my check,” Ruutu said. “He ducked away and I barely hit him. I didn’t change direction. I just went for a hit.

“I got five minutes for fighting and I didn’t even throw a punch. I had my gloves on the whole time.”

“When he takes a liberty like that, it’s unacceptable,” McCarthy said. “He plays his game well, but when he takes advantage of one of our best players, that’s unacceptable.”

Watch the video and decide if Ruutu did it intentionally.  I’m not sure Ruutu meant to knee Kovy but what do I really know?

Related Stories

• Ilya Kovalchuk Gets One-Game Suspension
• Atlanta Thrashers Fire Bob Hartley
• Atlanta Thrashers’ Lehtonen Placed on Injured Reserve
• Atlanta Thrashers @ Nashville Predators - October 25, 2007
• Thrashers Re-sign Goaltender Hedberg

POSTED IN: Atlanta Thrashers, Fan Fare, Fights, Injuries, News, Pittsburgh Penguins, Players, Video