Chris Kelly Suffered Broken Ankle After Taking Slash From Pascal Dupuis
BOSTON (CBS) -- Saturday night's contest between the Bruins and Penguins was marred by a first-period incident in which Shawn Thornton knocked out Brooks Orpik, requiring the Penguins defenseman to be taken off the ice by a stretcher. A James Neal knee to the head of Brad Marchand and an Orpik check on Loui Eriksson that resulted in a concussion also were the major talking points after the game.
Yet lost in all of that was Chris Kelly's injury, which now is reported to be a serious one.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported Sunday morning that Kelly suffered a broken ankle during Saturday night's game. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli later confirmed the news, placing Kelly on injured reserve with a broken fibula.
Kelly will be out four to six weeks.
Dreger said the injury came as a result of a slash from Pascal Dupuis, a play which was captured on Vine by NESN's Mike Cole:
Kelly did not leave the game after that slash, and he recorded 12:39 total time on ice.
Kelly has three goals and four assists on the season, but he's a key contributor to the team's eighth-ranked penalty kill.
The injury furthers the Bruins' injury problems. Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, Loui Eriksson are out due to injury, and Thornton is facing a lengthy suspension for his actions against Orpik.