Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman John Ludvig appeared to suffer a potential head injury during his team’s home contest against the Dallas Stars at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday.
A frightening scene unfolded at 10:41 of the second period when Ludvig struck Stars forward Radek Faksa with a violent check in the neutral zone.
As Ludvig arrived, his face struck Faksa’s helmet and he crashed to the ice, laying there for several minutes. Penguins athletic trainer Chris Stewart and team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas as well as Stars medical staffers attended to Ludvig, who eventually recovered to his skates but needed assistance from Penguins forward Noel Acciari and defenseman Marcus Pettersson to reach the rampway to the dressing room.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not provide a substantive update on Ludvig’s status following the game, indicating he is still being evaluated. According to goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, Ludvig was walking and talking to team staffers within the Penguins’ facilities at the arena following the game.
Ludvig, 23, was claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers on Oct. 9 and was a healthy scratch for the Penguins’ first five games of the season.
