Karlsson’s Achilles Sliced by Skate

Erik Karlsson’s injury and updates.

Erik Karlsson’s injury and updates.

The Ottawa Senators lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2, Wednesday night, but it’s an individual loss that will hurt them long into the future. According to the Senators’ official Twitter feed, defenseman Erik Karlsson will be out indefinitely after suffering an Achilles laceration against Pittsburgh.

Karlsson’s injury happened on a play that’s bound to create some controversy in the league office. As Matt Cooke checks him into the boards, you can noticeably see the Penguins left winger’s skate land directly on Karlsson. 

You can judge Cooke’s intent for yourself in the video, but TSN’s Gord Miller is reporting that the Senators are (understandably) upset with the play. For his part, Cooke said that it was a “complete accident,” according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Regardless of what happened during the play in question, losing Karlsson is a critical blow for Ottawa. The 22-year-old Swede is seen as a cornerstone of the Senators franchise and has emerged as one of the NHL’s brightest young stars.

Read the rest of the article here via our friends at Bleacher Report.