Blue Jackets’ Sean Kuraly was ‘struggling to breathe’ after chest injury in Dec. 23 game

After a scary incident, a veteran defenseman is opening up about what happened when he was forced to go to the hospital on Dec. 23.

Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Sean Kuraly told the media what happened when he left last Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with what ended up being an abdominal contusion.

The injury happened late in the first period when Kuraly took a hard hit into the end boards. As he was collecting himself, Kuraly was hit in his abdomen by the puck, and promptly left the ice. The Blue Jackets’ training staff noticed the blueliner to be in severe distress in the tunnel, forcing the game to be stopped as EMTs were called to the scene.

The 30-year-old said that he was struggling to breathe when he left the ice in obvious pain. Kuraly admitted he was light-headed, but never lost consciousness.

He ended up being taken to nearby Grant Medial Center for further evaluation, checked for internal injuries after the butt end of his stick was jammed into his midsection after being hit by Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Jake McCabe. Tests at both Nationwide Arena and the hospital came back negative.

The Niagara Falls native admitted that felt bad about how the situation escalated, as he had a lot of family attending the game. Johnny Gaudreau’s wife, Meredith, helped Kuraly’s mom, Jane, get down to the locker room shortly after the injury occurred.

Kuraly is listed as day-to-day, and will not be playing against the Leafs on Friday night, nor in the Jackets’ Saturday night clash with the Buffalo Sabres. There is no timeline for his return.

In 35 games this season, Kuraly has scored six goals and five assists. He is in the third year of a four-year contract with Columbus, with an AAV of $2.5 million.

The Blue Jackets (11-18-7) are last in the Metropolitan Division, 10 points out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.