Flames Get Somewhat Positive News on Scary Connor Zary Injury

The Calgary Flames got a serious scare on Thursday night as Connor Zary got tied up with Mikko Rantanen and fell awkwardly, re-injuring his previously hurt leg. It was an ugly scene and a gruesome image: Zary’s leg bent underneath him and Rantanen’s weight, and the forward immediately clutched at his leg in what was clearly agonizing pain.

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Head coach Ryan Huska said of the incident:

“It’s hard to watch. You don’t ever want to see a player go through that. You see how hard they work to come back, with their rehab, to try to put themselves in a position to come back. So our hope now is that the work that he’s done has strengthened his knee up enough so that the injury isn’t serious. We won’t know more until later on, as to what it’s actually going to look like. But we’re hopeful, I will say.”

Some Potentially Good News on Zary

While this isn’t an injury that is expected to be short-term, there is potentially positive news.

Darren Dreger of TSN reports:

“Further testing and imaging required to determine extent of injury, however, the initial assessment offered some encouragement regarding Connor Zary’s knee. Tough scene last night following an awkward collision with Rantanen.”

Eric Francis added that the Flames learned the leg wasn’t broken. He adds, “Imaging this afternoon, and there is optimism the damage isn’t as bad as many figured when they saw him buckle under Rantanen.”

There is a chance that Zary is done for the season, and should the Flames make the playoffs (which feels like a long shot), it’s hard to imagine he’ll be a part of their postseason games. The hope is that this isn’t anything that is compounded by the fact that it’s now two injuries to the same area in quick succession.

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