Hockey players are known for being tough, but Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron took things to a whole new level on Tuesday night after taking a skate to the face.
The Jets were already facing a tough task in round one of the NHL Stanley Cup Play-Offs as they faced Vegas Golden Knights, but Barron suffered a horror injury after just nine minutes following a collision in front of the net. Barron's face was gashed open by goaltender Laurent Brossoit's skate, which led to him immediately leaving the ice.
Barron required 75 stitches to patch up the wound near his right eye, but returned to the game during the second period. It was Barron's first-ever Play-Off game in the NHL, and certainly one he won't forget in a hurry.
It was an incredible display of resilience and commitment by Barron, who returned to help his team beat the Knights 5-1 and cause an early upset in their series. Barron returned with his face patched up, with blood still visible in and around his eye.
He appears to have been lucky to avoid severe eye damage, with the skate missing his right eye by a matter of inches. But even with 75 stiches done in the locker room there was nothing stopping the 24-year-old Canadian from getting back into the action.
"They did a great job stitching me up and, obviously, it missed my eye," Barron said after their 5-1 win. "I was glad it didn't get me in a real bad spot, but they did a great job fixing me up.
"It’s actually not bad. With the cage on it’s pretty hard for anything to happen. You get hopped up on adrenaline. I was obviously really excited for my first play-off game and just kind of went from there."
Jets head coach Rick Bowness was full of praise for his player, stating that Barron is a "perfect example" of what the organisation is all about. After the game Bowness detailed their discussion after receiving the stiches, and said: "He was looking at me. 'I'm ready.'
"I said, 'Do you need a little skate or something?' And he goes, 'Nope, I'm ready to go.' And of course he went right out and he banged into someone.
"That's Winnipeg Jets hockey, that we're all in. Morgan is a perfect example of that. Give him a lot of credit. That takes a lot of courage, to get 55 stitches, whatever the heck it was, and that was a pretty serious cut."
