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 is alert and stable but was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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 Associated Press contributed to this report.