Maple Leafs D Kaberle injured vs. Devils

Mar 3, 2007 - 7:14 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs may be without their All-Star defenseman for a while.

Tomas Kaberle left Friday's 4-3 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on a stretcher after a collision with enforcer Cam Janssen just over five minutes in the second period.

Nearly two seconds after Kaberle completed a pass in his own zone, Janssen delivered a shoulder to the left side of the blue-liner's head. While falling to the ice, Kaberle - who appeared to be knocked unconscious by the hit - crashed the back of his head into the boards and was motionless for several minutes.

After being attended to by the team doctor, Kaberle sat up and appeared cognizant of his surroundings. But he was placed in a neck immobilizer, strapped to a stretcher and taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was slated to be kept overnight for observation.

New Jersey defenseman Colin White did all he could to help Kaberle, rushing to escort the member of Toronto's medical staff to the fallen blue-liner before assisting paramedics in getting a stretcher onto the ice.

"I saw him down, and the next thing, I turned around and it was like convulsions," White said. "It scares anybody. You don't want to see anybody like that."

Janssen was not penalized for the questionable hit.

"I thought it was a clean hit," Janssen said. "I didn't get a penalty on it. I didn't leave my feet, didn't elbow him. He just hit the boards the wrong way. I don't think I (hit him high).

Janssen, who was the target of verbal abuse from Toronto's Wade Belak and Darcy Tucker from the runway following the play, admittedly was shaken up after the incident.

"It definitely rattled me," he said. "The way guys in my position play, it's bound to happen. I have gotten knocked silly, too, plenty of times, whether it's a fight or a hit or whatever the case may be. It's hockey. It's a rough sport.

"We've all been in that situation and it's a scary, scary thing. I give Kaberle all the respect in the world. He's a great hockey player and I hope he's OK."

Toronto's lone All-Star this season, Kaberle entered Friday second on the team with 49 points and first with 40 assists.