Vancouver Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher was forced to leave Saturday's game against Calgary after taking a shot in the face.
It happened in the final minute of the game with the Flames holding a 3-1 lead. Stecher laid out on the ice in an attempt to block a short-range shot by Flames center Elias Lindholm. Lindholm tried to flip it over Stecher, but ended up nailing him in the mouth with the puck.
Stecher got up in obvious pain and was led straight to the dressing room.
Stecher deserves credit for his hard play. At that stage of the game, with the Flames up by two goals with under a minute left and threatening to score another goal, Stecher's play would not make a difference in the final outcome, but he still sacrificed himself to help the team. We hope he's OK.
[SportsNet]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
