P.K. Subban's freak injury leaves fans, teammates shaken

Fans of P.K. Subban are expressing relief the Canadiens star defenceman will be OK following a freak injury during last night's game in Montreal.

The NHL team announced Friday he had been released from hospital with a non-serious neck injury.

A few hours later, Subban sent out a tweet thanking fans for their support. 

The star defenceman was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he fell in the corner and then collided with teammate Alexei Emelin late in Thursday night's game against Buffalo that the Habs won 3-2.

Subban, the 2013 Norris Trophy winner for the league's best defenceman, was nearly motionless on the ice for about 10 minutes while doctors and trainers tended to him.

Broadcaster and former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes later tweeted late Thursday that Subban would be all right.

Captain Max Pacioretty, who had a scary moment of his own back in 2011 when he was hit by Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara, said it was worrying to see "that many trainers and doctors on the ice."

"Nobody knew exactly what happened," Pacioretty said after the game. 

"That was the scariest part for me. It looked like a nothing play. It was impossible to concentrate after that."

Fans, meanwhile, anxiously awaited news.

Despite assurances Subban would likely recover, many said they were still shaken.