The Arizona Coyotes lose one of their key forwards in one of the worst ways possible. Clayton Keller injured his right leg in Wednesday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. He was driving to the boards behind the net when he lost an edge and collided awkwardly with the boards. The play was stopped immediately and he required a stretcher to get off the ice. For viewer discretion, the video will not be shown. He did give a thumbs-up as he was taken off the ice, a good sign for hockey fans everywhere. Keller said in a tweet that he would be out for the remainder of the season.
Clayton Keller was taken from the Coyotes game on a stretcher in the third period against the Sharks. The forward was injured with 5:15 remaining after falling and hitting the boards. He gave a thumbs-up as he was leaving the ice.https://t.co/67dJqkRriT
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) March 31, 2022
Clayton Keller Injured In Wednesday’s Game
Keller has been a consistently good forward on a struggling Arizona squad. Producing at nearly a point-per-game (63 points in 66 games), he leads the team in goals (28), assists (35), and points. The next closest on the team is Nick Schmaltz, with only 45 points. He’s spent his whole six-year career with Arizona, racking up 359 games. In those contests, he’s put up 256 points in the form of 96 goals and 160 assists. This is also his first season averaging over 20 minutes per game of ice time.
What This Means For Arizona
No matter who you cheer for, it is always scary to see a player go down like that. Especially when there is no contact involved, and an unlucky rut in the ice lands a player in the hospital. With Arizona eliminated from playoff contention, there is absolutely no rush to get the injured Clayton Keller back on the ice. So, the rest of the Coyotes’ squad will have to do some heavy lifting in order to put wins on the board. But, at this point, wins are futile. So, there could be a “Pain For Shane” rest of the season, as the Coyotes try to secure the number one overall draft pick in order to draft top prospect, Shane Wright.
Hockey fans everywhere, and especially Arizona fans, are wishing Keller a speedy recovery back to full health.
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