Newly acquired forward Scott Laughton was forced to leave the Leafs' 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday night in the third period after a scary injury.
Acquired by the Leafs hours before the trade deadline, Scott Laughton is still adjusting to the systems under Craig Berube, but has looked more comfortable each game.
Saturday, Laughton lined up with William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok on the third line as Berube attempted to balance out his top nine, splitting Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Nylander across three lines.
In the third period, unfortunately, Laughton caught an errant stick from Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson as he attempted to turn back towards the Leafs' zone.
The stick got under Laughton's visor and appeared to catch him directly in the eye.
The former Philadelphia Flyer immediately headed to the bench and then down to the Leafs' dressing room holding a towel over his eye.
For older Leafs fans, it brought up the bad memories of Bryan Berard when he took a stick to his eye from Marian Hossa, ironically also against the Senators years ago.
Given the time of the injury, Laughton did not return, but given how severe it looked, likely would not have returned even if it happened earlier in the game.
Craig Berube will likely provide a standard post-game update, not revealing much, aside from the fact they will know more when he is re-evaluated.
For now, however, the Leafs and the loyal fan base will hope it is not as serious as it looked.
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