A scary sight unfolded late in the first game of the NHL season Tuesday night, as Canadiens enforcer George Parros slammed his face on the ice after stumbling over Maple Leafs tough guy Colton Orr during a fight late in the game at Montreal.
After lying motionless on the Bell Centre ice for a few a moments, Parros turned over, blood visible on his face and the ice. He was put on a stretcher and taken to the Canadiens' dressing room before being transported to an area hospital via ambulance.
A few hours after the game, it was announced Parros suffered a concussion. A message was also sent out from his verified Twitter account late Tuesday.
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone #classyfollowers
— George Parros (@GeorgeParros) October 2, 2013
Medical update on George Parros: he was released from the hospital, suffered a concussion, will be out indefinitely.
It was the second fight of the night for Parros (the first was against Orr, as well), who was playing in his first game with Montreal after spending last season with the Panthers. In 452 career games entering this season, Parros, 33, has 1,007 penalty minutes. And he and Orr have a long history.
"You never want to see a guy get hurt like that," Orr said. "It was a scary situation. I just hope he's all right.
"It happened fast. I slipped and he came on top of me. The ice isn't going to give."
The two have fought each other several times, and Orr was injured in a similar fight with Parros two years ago in Toronto. Parros, then with the Anaheim Ducks, landed on Orr, who sustained a concussion and didn't play for the rest of that season.
The Kings, the team Parros first played for, tweeted this later in the evening.
Our thoughts are with @GeorgeParros, hope he's ok. No one tougher in the league.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 2, 2013
And other teams and players (former and current) sent their well wishes, too.
Sending our best from the nation's capital to Montreal's @GeorgeParros.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 2, 2013
Lets hope @GeorgeParros is ok. Hate seeing a former teammate and good friend get hurt. Thinking of you guys @LTRBrands
— Bobby Ryan (@b_ryan9) October 2, 2013
"Any time you see a guy go down - no matter what team he's on — it's pretty scary," Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said. "Hopefully things are all right and he'll bounce back quickly.
"It's tough. You have a guy who's coming into a new team and he wants to establish himself. He had a good game tonight, stepping up for his guys and protecting his guys. You never like to see him go down like that."
The Maple Leafs won the game, 4-3.
— The Associated Press and NHL.com contributed to this report
