| | BOSTON -- Boston Bruins rookie left wing Mikko Eloranta broke his left ankle in the second period of Thursday night's 2-2 tie with the Edmonton Oilers and will be out two to three months after undergoing surgery on Friday.
|  | | Boston's Mikko Eloranta is taken off the ice on a stretcher after breaking his left ankle. |
Eloranta went down with 18:20 left in the period. He got tied
up with Oilers defenseman Bert Robertsson and slid into the left
corner, his left leg folding awkwardly behind him as he crashed
into the boards.
The 27-year-old native of Finland was in
obvious pain before his leg was immobilized and he was carried
from the ice on a stretcher.
A 1999 ninth-round draft pick, Eloranta has four goals and four
assists in 21 games this season.
"It's a really unfortunate thing, what happened to Mikko,"
Bruins coach Pat Burns said. "The way he's been playing lately,
he deserved a better fate. After he went out of the game, I
don't know if it was the delay or the guys feeling down about
his injury, but I felt the wind go out of the balloon on our
bench. It seems like one injury after the other for us right now."
Dr. Bertram Zarins used a metal plate and
screws to stabilize the ankle during Friday's surgery.
| |
ALSO SEE
Oilers still can't win in OT, but Ranford preserves tie with Bruins
 |
