The New York Islanders had a third scary incident this season involving an errant skate.
Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk was caught in the face by a skate during the third period Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
The incident happened after Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov made a glove save, and Boychuk tried to get Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen out of the crease. Lehkonen tripped and his skate came up and appeared to hit Boychuk in the face under his visor.
Boychuk was in pain but got up quickly and rushed to the dressing room with his glove covering his face. A trainer followed him.
WARNING: Graphic video
Johnny Boychuk rushes off the ice after taking Artturi Lehkonen’s skate to the face. Very scary. pic.twitter.com/NwpIQAzznP
Islanders coach Barry Trotz had no immediate update on Boychuk after the game. "It’s pretty scary obviously around the facial/eye area," he told reporters. "He’s being evaluated.”
Lehkonen called the incident scary.
"I hope I didn't hit him in the eye or anything like that," he told TSN. "But it was scary for sure. I felt right away that it hit him somewhere high."
The incident occurred a little more than a year after Boychuk was cut in the neck by the skate of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner. He was able to return later that game.
This year, Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck had his wrist sliced by a skate in December and returned Saturday after missing 30 games. Forward Casey Cizikas remains out after suffering a laceration to his leg in a Feb. 11 incident.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez and Detroit Red Wings forward Brendan Perlini were also injured this season in skate-related incidents.
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