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Ian Cole adjusts to missing teeth, life with a cage

Nashville Predators v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 07: Ian Cole #28 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators at PPG PAINTS Arena on October 7, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)

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NEW YORK — Ian Cole has played 342 games and blocked 578 shots in his NHL career. Two weeks ago, he finally got to experience losing teeth as a hockey player.

As he displayed on Twitter (don’t look, really) the following day, the Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen lost three choppers in gruesome fashion after taking a Roman Josi slap shot to the mouth on Oct. 7. When he returned to the lineup Tuesday night against the New York Rangers, he was a couple of pounds lighter and wearing a cage.

“It was definitely something it looks nasty, it certainly was nasty. The feeling of them clipping away at bone off my jaw was not a feeling that I would want to have again,” he said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “But it could have been much worse. It could have been a broken jaw, could have been a lot more teeth. I certainly was fortunate.”

Cole re-joined his teammates on the ice this week and after seeing his diet switch to that of rice cakes, smoothies and soups, he’s back to eating solid foods, and the weight that was lost is slowly returning. After the Penguins arrived in New York City on Monday, he went the sushi route for dinner, preferring not to take a chance with a steak.

While playing at Notre Dame, Cole sported a half-shield, half-visor look, so going the full cage route won’t be a major adjustment. Once the Penguins medical staff tell him he’s able to say goodbye to the cage, Cole will go back to wearing just a visor.

“There’s a little bit of visibility difference, but it’s not that big of a deal,” he said. “You shouldn’t be looking down at the puck too much anyway ideally. There might be a time or two when you might lose the puck for a second, but hopefully those times are few and far between.”

Cole’s dad, Doug, is a dentist, and has been especially interested in his son’s recovery, passing along questions he has to the medical staff about the treatment they are giving the defensman.

After going through this experience for the first time in his career Cole says he believes if the NHL ever mandated cages for players they would get accustomed to it over time.

“Guys always get used to it, whether it’s visors or slashing calls now or face-off rules, guys adapt well and they’ll be fine,” he said. “That decision’s way above my pay grade but guys can adapt to that.”

Cole will get used to peering through a cage on the ice. But will what he went through cause some hesitation next time the opportunity to block a shot arises? He led all players with five blocked shots at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night.

“Now that I’ve got the full cage on, I’ve got nothing to worry about,” he joked. “I’m in full armor, I’m ready to go.”

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.

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