STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- On his first shift in a World Ice Hockey Championship game, Guy Lafleur of the Montreal Canadiens ran into a solid body check and was led off the ice.
Playing center between Pat Boutette and Lucien DeBlois, Lafleur picked up a pass from DeBlois at the red line and was immediately hit by Dutch defenseman Rick Van Gogh, a 190-pounder.
Lafleur dropped to the ice and referee Josef Kompalla interrupted the game at 41 second mark of the first period.
As Lefleur was led from the ice, Canadian coach Don Cherry shouted over to the Dutch coach Gustav Bubnik, 'Take that guy off the ice,' referring to Van Gogh.
But it was a clean check.
The first period ended with Canada leading 2-0.
Van Gogh is a Canadian expatriate who had played Junior B hockey near Toronto and is known as 'Elbows' in the Dutch League. He hit Lafleur with what Canada manager John Ferguson called 'the best check I have seen in fifteen years.'
But a TV replay showed he brought up his elbow as he stepped into him.
Lafleur was treated for a cut on the bridge of his nose -- his eighth injury this season.
Lafleur, who had stepped off the plane just two and a half hours before the game started to bolster the team, did not reappear for the second period.
