NEWARK, N.J. — The Canucks lost 3-2, but who cares?
No one with a heart. Not after seeing Philip Larsen.
He is the 183-pound defenceman who has been clawing so desperately at an NHL career. The results, at best, have been mixed.
But none of it mattered in Tuesday’s second period. Not when he was lying unmoving after being pulverized by a Taylor Hall hit that knocked him unconscious.
Was it a head shot? Was it predatory? The NHL’s department of player safety has another difficult decision on its hands.
From a Vancouver perspective, it looked horrible.