Hartnell to see cardiologist Tuesday

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Flyers winger Scott Hartnell will visit a cardiologist on Tuesday after an elevated heart incident in Detroit.

Hartnell did not play in the third period of the Flyers' 3-1 win at the Joe Louis Arena. General manager Paul Holmgren said that between the second and third periods, Hartnells heart rate was elevated and took far too long to return to normal.

Coach Peter Laviolette called it, A very scary situation.

Hartnell seemed fine after the gamehe fell twice (as usual) and was joking around. Hartnell told reporters on Sunday he was sore and never mentioned the heart issue.

Just a maintenance day, just a little sore, he said. Soreness everywhere. First couple weeks of the season everyone is having a tweak muscle here and there and its better to be safe than sorry.

Holmgren said soreness was not the issue here.

Were getting him checked out, Im sure it was a scary situation for Scott, Holmgren said. He had an elevated heart rate. We dont know what happened. It wouldnt go down even after rest during the intermission. We held him off the ice.

Hartnell, who is 29, had an initial exam back in Philadelphia on Saturday. The results were negative but the Flyers want him evaluated by a cardiologist.

Were mildly concerned because he is a young guy, Holmgren said. He had some twitching in his armsTrainer Jimmy McCrossin looked at him right away and his heart rate was elevated. It should not have been after a period of time that they held him out.

Hartnell will not play on Monday against the Rangers, but will attend the Winter Classic news conference that afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Holmgren said it took an abnormal length of time for Hartnells heart rate to go down.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net

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