Slap shots: More scary stuff

By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Published February 17, 2008

The gruesome injury to Florida's Richard Zednik (in which he lost five pints of blood after the skate of heels-over-head teammate Olli Jokinen slashed the carotid artery in Zednik's neck) brought out injury horror stories around the league.

One of the best, or worst, from the Lightning came from forward Mathieu Darche.

Darche said while with AHL Milwaukee in 2003-04, he checked Marcel Hossa, who tumbled backward and whose skate sliced through Darche's pants and thigh.

Darche said all he felt was a scratch. He reached for his thigh and was able to get his hand in the 5-inch wound, from which he still has a purplish scar.

"You could see the fat. You could see the muscle and everything," Darche said. "It was kind of gross."

Darche said the cut was so sharp, it hardly bled. But he still spent the night in the hospital and was out of the lineup for two weeks. He called such occurrences "freak accidents."

What did he think when he saw Zednik's injury?

"Not that you want to see it, but it's reassuring to see the doctors the trainers, the arena, the ambulance, they were well-prepared for any major injury.

"The trainers reacted. The doctors were there. And ... he's going to be fine."

Most gruesome

That would be the injury to former Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk, who in March 1989 was inadvertently kicked in the throat by St. Louis' Steve Tuttle.

It was a ghastly scene as blood spilled onto the ice. Two spectators had heart attacks, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Nine fainted. Three players vomited on the ice.

Malarchuk took 300 stitches but was back at practice four days later, played in the regular-season finale and appeared in 66 games over the next two NHL seasons.

Because of the injury, the NHL mandated goalies wear throat protection. Malarchuk, now the Blue Jackets goalie coach, said all skaters should wear a protective device.

"Just a Kevlar collar," he told the Dispatch. "It doesn't have to be a full body shirt; just something you can pull over your head like a ski mask."

Hot about the collar

Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin told the Toronto Sun he would be against wearing a neck guard even though in October 1995 in his native Sweden, a player, Bengt Akerblom, died from blood loss after his throat was slit by a skate.

Neck guards are now mandatory in Sweden.

"Neck guards are mandatory for kids, and that's good," Sundin said. "But it's tough for elite players. It might inhibit breathing for some players."

Dream come true

Steve Stamkos, expected to be the top pick in this year's draft, has a real chance to be selected by the Maple Leafs, who are flirting with the bottom of the league. That would be fine with the Sarnia Sting junior, who grew up in Unionville, just north of Toronto, and a Leafs fan.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I've checked out the NHL standings," Stamkos told the Toronto Sun. "I pay attention to where the Leafs sit. I know they're near the bottom of the standings. The chance of getting picked by them is in the back of my mind."

Stamkos, who had 80 points in his first 46 games for Sarnia, said he will be happy to play for any NHL team.

Still, he reiterated, "I idolized the Leafs growing up."

By the numbers

Thursday at Carolina, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, left, scored his first goal since October 2005, breaking a 180-game streak. It was the league's second-longest active behind Calgary defenseman David Hale's 201.

Odds and ends

Predators captain Jason Arnott has scored 20 goals for the ninth straight season. ... The Leafs on Thursday tied a team record with their 20th one-goal loss. Nine came by overtime or shootout. ... The Wild, which rotates its captain, has had 19 since its 2000 inception but not Marian Gaborik, clearly its best and highest-paid player. "I've never asked why," Gaborik told the Edmonton Journal.

He said it

"We just didn't do enough to win. To win in this league, you have to do enough to win, and we didn't do enough to win. It's as simple as that."

Stars coach Dave Tippett after Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Coyotes.

[Last modified February 16, 2008, 22:15:20]