The injury suffered by Los Angeles Kings star forward Kevin Fiala on Friday is likely to be season-ending, according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
The injury occurred during Friday’s game between Switzerland and Canada at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games. Fiala, who is playing for Team Switzerland, suffered the injury when he backed up into a hit by Canada forward Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals).
With both players falling to the ice, it was Fiala who ultimately suffered the worst part of the collision. Fiala remained down on the ice for a few minutes in obvious pain and seemed unable to move his left leg. He eventually had to leave on a stretcher with an air cast on his left leg.
Fiala was ruled out for the rest of the tournament almost immediately after being stretchered off the ice with what the Swiss team called a lower leg injury. The Swiss team also said Fiala had surgery on his leg after being hospitalized.
Devastating news for Los Angeles Kings playoff hopes
Losing players to injury is one of the biggest fears for NHL teams while allowing their star players to participate in international and Olympic play, and it has unfortunately happened to the Kings. Fiala’s loss is a devastating blow for the Kings, who currently find themselves just three points out of the final wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference. Fiala was in the midst of a phenomenal season, currently ranking second on the team in points (40), goals scored (18) and assists (22).
The Kings had also just added former New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin in a trade right before the Olympic break, adding some juice to the offense and asserting their push towards making a playoff run. The loss of Fiala, however, certainly dampens the Kings’ hopes, and the addition of Panarin now looks more like a very timely and fortunate replacement for Fiala rather than an added boost to a team with playoff aspirations. The Kings will now have to move forward without one of their best players in Fiala.