RALEIGH, N.C. — Concussions can be unpredictable, fickle, confounding and at times maddening.
Defenseman Brady Skei was concussed, missed four games, then returned to play and score a goal Thursday in the Canes’ 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at PNC Arena.
“Concussions,” Skjei said after the game, “are definitely a scary thing. Each concussion is different. Some go by quick. Some last a while.”
Forward Teuvo Teravainen also scored and had an assist Thursday. Named the game’s first star, he went through a postgame interview on the Canes’ bench with a broad — likely relieved — smile.
After a suffering a concussion Feb. 19 against the Chicago Blackhawks, Teravainen sat out seven games before coming back to play March 4 against the Red Wings. He quickly sensed that was a mistake.
“I just didn’t feel right, especially the next day,” Teravainen said on a media call Thursday. “I was having the symptoms, so it was not the right feeling. It just took more time.”
A lot of time.
Teravainen was out the next 25 games, leaving many to wonder when he would be able to play again. And beyond that, play like Teuvo Teravainen again.
He resumed limited off-ice work. He was skating on his own and then rejoined the team in recent weeks for a few practices. But there were no games as the days passed.
“It was a tough time,” Teravainen said. “Everybody helped me a lot, maybe even too much. They asked me how I feel every day, and that’s kind of annoying.”
Teravainen’s symptoms began to ease. But NHL games are a different animal, with the speed and physicality. The Canes’ medical people and coach Rod Brind’Amour remained cautious.
“The concussion things are the great unknown,” Brind’Amour said Friday.
For much of Brind’Amour’s playing career, concussions were considered being “dinged up.” Once the “fog” would pass he’d quickly be back on the ice. Former Canes coach Kirk Muller once said there were times he’d bang his head during games and tell his linemates to be sure he was headed to the right bench when the shift ended.
“I look back on my career and there was some worry at the end,” Brind’Amour said. “I’m like, ‘Holy moly, I probably had 100 of them.’ But we just didn’t know back then.
“Now we err towards caution, for sure. A guy gets a little dinged up, obviously they yank him out of the game. If there’s a little something, he’s out for a week. They really take care of these guys as best they can and that’s a great thing.”
There’s the specter of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a degenerative brain condition that can be caused by repeated blows to the head. Some pro athletes have retired prematurely after sustaining multiple concussions — including former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly — to lessen the risks later in life.
Teravainen was missed when he was out, even as the Canes won games and led the Central Division. He’s a player the team counts on at even strength and on special teams, and one of the its best defensive forwards with his instincts and quick hands.
Brind’Amour got him back into his first game Tuesday against the Dallas Stars on the road, giving him 16:32 of ice time in the 5-1 win. He had 16:16 on Thursday, including a small slice of penalty-killing time. That could soon increase, the coach said.
Teravainen, playing on Sebastian Aho’s line with winger Andrei Svechnikov, assisted on Skjei’s goal in the second period that gave the Canes a 1-0 lead. In the third, he forced a Wings turnover, took a pass from Sebastian Aho and scored his third goal of the season — his 300th career NHL point.
“I knew he was going to be fine,” Aho said.
Brind’Amour said Teravainen had become sick of just practicing and wanted to play. He needed some games before the playoffs began to get back to game speed, feel the puck, build his stamina, be a contributor again.
“ I think he thinks the games are easier than the practices and everything that goes into getting ready to play,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a gamer.”
Skjei was injured April 20 against Tampa Bay, his head smacking into the glass after a hit from behind from the Lightning’s Blake Coleman. He tried to continue to play but couldn’t and entered the concussion protocol.
“It’s weird because your body feels fine,” Skjei said Thursday night. “Physically you’re all there. But the biggest part of your body, your brain, is the thing you’ve got to let heal. After the hit, most of it was in my eyes. That kind of went away a couple of days later and I started to feel a lot better on that third and fourth day.
“You’ve got to be patient and you’ve got to wait until you feel 100%,” he said.
