Calling the broken jaw injury of New York Rangers center Derek Stepan "unfortunate," suspended Montreal Canadiens right wing Brandon Prust said he had communicated with the injured Ranger whom he called a 'friend.'
Stepan underwent surgery on Friday night after being hit by Prust, who was suspended for two games by the league office. Stepan's status for the series is still unclear.
Via ESPN, Prust, a former Ranger himself, told the media on Saturday about the broken jaw that Stepan sustained: "It's an unfortunate injury. Unfortunate for him, and unfortunate for me. My mindset is not trying to injury anybody. And Step is a friend of mine. My main focus on the hit was keeping my elbow tucked, trying to make sure I got him in the chest."
He continued: "By no means, whether they're friends or not, you don't want to injury anybody. It's very unfortunate."
The six-year veteran said he had sent a text message to Stepan after hearing that he had caused the broken jaw. "I reached out to him, I texted him, just told him: 'I feel awful. I didn't want to injure anybody, especially a friend of mine. I told him exactly what I told you guys, it was my first shift and I was just trying to create some body contact. I feel awful. You never want to hurt anybody. I hope he recovers well."
Prust said Stepan sent him a short reply, but feels that the injured Ranger understands where he is coming from.
He also said he accepts the decision of the league to mete him a two-game suspension, saying: "If there's no injury I was thinking no games. Once I heard he had a broken jaw, I was thinking one, maybe two games."
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