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Eric Staal taken to hospital after head-first crash into boards

Wild center Eric Staal left Game 5 of Minnesota's playoff series against St. Louis and was taken to a hospital following a head-first crash into the boards.

The Wild announced on their official Twitter account that Staal was alert and stable but had been taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. They later tweeted Saturday night that he had been released from the hospital.

During a 4-on-4 situation in the second period, Staal sent a breakaway shot to the net before tripping on Blues goalie Jake Allen's skate after initial contact with defenseman Carl Gunnarsson knocked him off balance. Staal slid hard and horizontally into the boards.

Play was stopped with 6:07 remaining until the intermission, and Staal was down for several minutes before slowly climbing to his feet. He was visibly dazed as he was helped to the locker room, while the crowd booed the absence of a penalty.

Staal was playing on Minnesota's first line between Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter. The Wild went on to lose the decisive Game 5 in overtime, 4-3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.