Jack Capuano took a puck to the face halfway through the third period of his New York Islanders' Game 1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Like the gutsy play he preaches to his players, his battle level remained high. He left the bench, but not for long.
The incident came after a Lightning dump-in bounced off the leg of Ryan Strome (a recent healthy scratch, so play with your own metaphors there) and shot over the boards toward Capuano's right cheek. Assistant coaches Doug Weight and Greg Cronin took over down the stretch.
While Capuano was in the dressing room being tended to, the Lightning scored to reduce a once-comfortable Isles lead to 4-3. But Capuano returned to the bench in time to see his team ice the game with a Cal Clutterbuck empty-net goal.
The moment was actually pretty scary: not just for the pain and potential damage to handsome looks, but because the puck went frighteningly close to Capuano's eye.
All good though. Isles got the 5-3 win, Capuano got a battle scar, and the coach has a couple of days before the next game to take care of that shiner. (A bonus for us at LHH: We add another chapter in the annals of Islanders Face, an injury that used to be common but had been eradicated as the rebuild took off.)
Plus, the players had their fun with it:
JT on Capuano getting hit with a puck "We didn't feel too bad, he's always telling us to block shots and stuff"
— Isles Nation (@NYIslesNation) April 28, 2016
Update: Cappy had fun with it too.
Capuano took puck to the face on 2/1/13, missed 3rd period/OT in Newark. "I've been hit more times (behind the bench) than when I played."
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) April 28, 2016