RALEIGH, N.C. -- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb left Thursday's Game 2 loss in the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes after taking a shot to his face in the first period.
McNabb was defending in front of Vegas goalie Carter Hart when Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers fired a shot from inside the blue line. The puck, traveling 87 mph, hit McNabb around the visor. He dropped to the ice before eventually getting to his skates, clutching his nose as he quickly left the ice.
McNabb didn't return to the Vegas bench for the second period, and ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that he left Lenovo Center to go to a hospital for further evaluation.
Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon moved up to take McNabb's place next to Shea Theodore on the Golden Knights' top pairing.
McNabb has one goal and six assists in 16 playoff games for Vegas, skating 20:53 on average.
Vegas had a 1-0 advantage in Game 2 when McNabb left and went on to lose 4-3 in overtime, leaving the series tied at 1-all.