Igor Chernyshov left the game after a high hit from Mike Matheson.
On the top San Jose Sharks prospect’s first shift since his recall from the Barracuda, Chernyshov caught the wrong end of something that looked like a clothesline, perhaps because the speedy winger was about to beat the defenseman with the puck up the ice.
Igor Chernyshov takes a shot to the head and looks to be knocked out. Then tries to get up and stumbles. pic.twitter.com/eXavUV9lOE
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) March 14, 2026
📷 David Kirouac pic.twitter.com/YgpgDfLi7a
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) March 15, 2026
Chernyshov tried to get up on his own twice, but fell back twice, before getting helped off by San Jose Sharks trainer Will Leonard and teammate Vincent Desharnais. Leonard was holding a towel over the right side of Chernyshov’s forehead.
Matheson was not called for a penalty.
Per Sharks PR, Chernyshov will not return to the game tonight, and is undergoing evaluation.
“That was really scary,” Macklin Celebrini, Chernyshov’s center tonight, told Drew Remenda between periods.
Best wishes to Igor!
Igor Chernyshov ne reviendra pas aux jeux ce soir. Il a quitté pour l’hôpital pour des examens plus approfondis. @SanJoseSharks @TVASports
— Renaud Lavoie (@RLavoieTVA) March 15, 2026
UPDATE: Good news, and how both the San Jose Sharks and Canadiens viewed the hit.
Chernyshov will travel with team to Ottawa, good sign
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 15, 2026
Desharnais, on Matheson hit on Chernyshov: “Matheson, Carrier, they all came to me after the 1st and asked me, Is he okay? I think it was kind of a bad luck play, and I don’t think Mikey meant for that to happen and just bad luck. I think he’s doing okay now, and that’s all that…
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 15, 2026
Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson after the game when asked about his first-period hit on the Sharks’ Igor Chernyshov that knocked him out #Habs: pic.twitter.com/mAYpNBHoRK
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) March 15, 2026