NHL Player Safety rules on Jakob Chychrun's vicious hit on Nick Cousins

UPDATE: According to NHL insider Emily Kaplan, there will be no supplemental discipline for Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun for his hit on Ottawa Senators forward Nick Cousins yesterday evening.

From Kaplan:

NHL Department of Player Safety deemed Jakob Chychrun’s hit on Nick Cousins as legal, no supplemental discipline. Senators coach Travis Green said Cousins was knocked out briefly and is out at least a week.

Read below for our earlier report on the hit and Cousins' status moving forward.

Tuesday night's game between the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals featured a scary moment that quickly put hockey on the back burner, as Senators forward Nick Cousins was knocked out cold following a massive hit from Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

The incident happened when Cousins was handling the puck along the boards in Ottawa's defensive zone. Chychrun stepped down from the blue line and delivered a crushing shoulder check that sent the 33-year-old forward crashing to the ice. Cousins appeared to be unconscious following the collision, immediately prompting teammates and Ottawa's medical staff to rush to his aid.

After spending some time on the ice, Cousins was eventually helped off and taken down the tunnel to the Senators' dressing room. The hit initially resulted in a five-minute major penalty for Chychrun, but officials reversed that decision following a review, much to the frustration of the Senators.

Cousins had already played 12:12 across 19 shifts before his night came to an abrupt end. Ottawa would eventually fall 3-2 in overtime, but understandably, the final score was hardly the biggest concern for the team.

Following the game, head coach Travis Green was clearly unhappy with the decision to overturn the major penalty. Green felt Chychrun made significant contact with Cousins' head and questioned how the officials arrived at their decision.

"They must have saw it differently," Green said.

Green also provided an initial update on Cousins, revealing that the veteran forward had not been taken to the hospital but was not doing particularly well following the frightening collision.

Unfortunately, the latest update suggests Cousins won't be returning to the lineup anytime soon. Green has since revealed that the forward is expected to miss approximately one week to 10 days as he recovers from the injury.

That's obviously a tough break for Ottawa, but the most important thing is making sure Cousins is healthy before he gets back on the ice.

Senators captain Thomas Chabot also shared his disappointment after watching his teammate go down in such frightening fashion.

"It sucks seeing him like that," Chabot said, acknowledging that while physicality is an unavoidable part of hockey, nobody wants to see a teammate suffer an injury like this.

Cousins has contributed two goals and one assist in 19 games for Ottawa this season, spending much of his time on the second line alongside Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson.

The Senators are scheduled to return to action Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche, and they'll now have to figure out how to replace Cousins in the lineup over the next week or so. More importantly, they'll be hoping their veteran forward makes a full recovery and is back to playing hockey sooner rather than later.