NOV
06
The Top Five freak injuries to goalies in hockey history
Posted November 6th ago via ArmchairGM
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(Originally published on HockeyAdventure.com) One of the NHL's top young offensive forwards inadvertently jabs his stick into the eye of an emerging American star. Does that sound horribly familiar? It's what happened when Marian Hossa's follow-through clipped Bryan Berard in an Ottawa Senators-New York Islanders game on March 11, 2000. It's also what happened when Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby had his stick lifted by Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek and saw the blade poke through goalie Rick DiPietro's cage during New York's 3-2 win on Saturday. Fortunately, it appears that DiPietro's injury is less serious than that of Berard, who endured multiple eye surgeries and missed an entire season before returning to the NHL in 2001. But who could have guessed that a goalie with a modern protective mask would be susceptible to this sort of thing? (Especially in an era where guys like Roman Cechmanek have been known to deliberately block shots with their faces.) It's the very definition of a freak injury. Of course, masks aren't foolproof, as Dallas-area dentist Dr. Michael Eeds discovered during a 2004 rec hockey game. When a slapshot hit the 57-year-old's mask, the puck seriously dented the cage. Eeds, who lost sight in his right eye as a result, sued the manufacturers. But as you'll see from the following list of the Top Five freak injuries to goalies in hockey history, no body part is safe when it comes to this position-on or off the ice. 1) Clint Malarchuk: March 11, 1989 To most NHL fans, this story is so familiar and gruesome that it doesn't require much elaboration. Playing for Buffalo, Malarchuk had his jugular vein slashed by the skate of Steve Tuttle when Sabres defenseman Uwe Krupp tripped the St. Louis forward in front of the net. Malarchuk lost copious amounts of blood from the six-inch cut on his throat, and escaped with his life after doctors gave him more than 300 stitches. Amazingly, the 27-year-old was back in action on April 2. Years later, the incide...

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