New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk left the game immediately after getting hit with a skate blade while Montreal Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen was falling.
Boychuk can be seen grabbing his face while laying down on the ice. Normally players wait for the athletic trainer to assist them on the ice or help assess the damage, but Boychuk got up and immediately went into the locker room.
A few extra zips but sounds like he should hire someone else to do his eyebrows from now on
— David Boychuk (@daboych) March 4, 2020
Reports following the accident stated that the blade hit his eyelid and eyebrow, narrowly avoiding his eye. “He should hire someone else to do his eyebrows from now on,” his brother David Boychuk said on Twitter. This is the third time an Islanders player has been cut by skate blades this year. Cal Clutterbuck recently returned after being cut by a skate blade back in December. Casey Cizikas, another Islanders forward, is still recovering after he was cut by a skate blade just a few weeks ago. Just last year around the same time as this incident, Boychuk took a skate blade to the throat as a player was falling. He returned to that game with just a few stitches.
The Islanders have been struggling recently, losing four straight following a 6-2 loss last night at home. Boychuk’s injury would be the second top-defenseman hurt for the Islanders this season and hope for their return this season looks doubtful.