We haven’t gone through four full days of playoff games at this point, but there have already been at least two plainly simple examples of how tough hockey players are. In both cases, star players aren’t exempt from those expectations.
First, Martin St. Louis fought through fractured teeth and a double root canal to score a goal and an assist against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. Now Johan Franzen might be worthy of the nickname “Franzenstein” as the talented Detroit Red Wings forward keeps suffering grizzly facial injuries.
Franzen needed 20-plus stitches after taking a Shane Doan hit in the first period, but it didn’t keep him from returning later in the game. He discussed how he feels about the hit after the game, including the fact that he still doesn’t want to wear a visor after taking all that abuse.
Yup, hockey players are tough.