Washington Capitals forward Mathieu Perreault was taken to a Buffalo hospital on Monday after getting speared by his own stick in the third period of the Capitals' 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. Perreault was taken there for precautionary reasons and flew home separately early Tuesday morning, according to Katie Carrera of the Washington Post.

The injury occurred with five minutes and 59 seconds remaining in the third period. Perreault was in the offensive zone when he ran into Sabres defensemen Christian Ehrhoff in the corner. Perreault's own stick was pushed into his midsection and he fell on the ground. Perreault did skate for three more shifts before leaving the game for good with what the team deemed an "upper-body injury." The team said he was taken to the hospital for "precautionary reasons." By then, the game was mostly out of reach.

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