Samuel Girard transported to hospital after big hit in Game 3.

We have a concerning update to bring you.

According to an official announcement from the Colorado Avalanche, defenseman Samuel Girard has been taken to a local hospital in St. Louis as a result of a big hit he took in the early going of Game 3 on Saturday night. Officially the Avalanche have said that he is being taken to hospital for "further evaluation" although you have to believe that they were concerned about the health of their player if they felt that this was the proper course of action.

It seems highly unlikely that we are going to see Girard again any time soon in this series, with the next 2 games schedule for Monday and Wednesday respectively. Wednesday's game will take place in Colorado and you have to wonder if Girard will be able to travel if he has suffered some type of significant head injury.

If you haven't seen the hit itself, it was a devastating one. While the hit from St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev was a shoulder to shoulder type of hit, the impact from that hit would send Girard's head hard into the protective glass and the boards. The damage from the hit was immediately visible on Girard's face which was caked with blood, no doubt courtesy of that impact with the glass, although the concern for him now is far more than superficial.