Wild center Eric Staal suffered a scary head or neck injury late in the second period of Saturday's Wild-Blues game when he went head-first into the end boards after splitting the Blues defense and getting a shot on goalie Jake Allen.

He was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul for observation. The Wild later reported Staal was alert and stable at the hospital.

Staal grabbed his head and laid on the ice for several minutes as he was attended to by team medical personnel. He slowly skated off the ice with a great deal of assistance, seeming dazed as he talked to teammate Ryan Suter. Staal was helped down the tunnel to the Wild dressing room at Xcel Energy Center.

No penalty was called on the play. Staal tripped to the left of the goal and was tangled with defenseman Carl Gunnarsson's stick and clanked skates with Allen.

The Wild scored two goals late in the third period to tie it 3-3 and force overtime.