Marc Staal is known as one of the toughest and most consistent defensive players in the NHL and he proved exactly why on Tuesday night as the New York Rangers star took a puck to the eye against the Philadelphia Flyers.
According to ESPNNewYork.com, Staal was hit in the eye in the third period of New York's 4-2 victory over the Flyers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden off of a tipped puck. The shot came at 5:45 in the period and he went directly down to the ice and was in pain before skating off on his own. Staal did not return to the game after heading to the training room.
The Rangers did not give an update on Staal after the game and there is chance he could be evaluated further.
"That was scary," goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. "He was in a lot of pain. It was tough to focus after that."
Staal has been one of the team's top defenseman after coming back strong from a concussion that kept him out most of last season.
"I heard the shot and I heard him. It's a scary play to see," said his defense partner Dan Girardi. "A guy that's in a lot of pain and that's a big part of our team. I think he's OK [but] I haven't heard much. I'm going to check on him and hopefully he's OK."
The injury unsettled many Rangers teammates, including Ryan Callahan and Rick Nash, who each scored two goals to help the team win their third straight game.
"When it's that close to his eye, there's no way to really prevent that. It's off a stick and into his face," Callahan said. "You could feel that really take the life out of the bench a little bit, out of the whole crowd. It was a scary moment. I haven't seen him yet, but hopefully he's OK."
Staal has tallied two goals and nine assists in the past 21 games and he is second on the team in playing time while averaging nearly 25 minutes on ice per game.
The Rangers started off the season slow but have come on as of late despite losing Brad Richards to an injury after he was checked from behind into the boards against Buffalo. Patrick Kaleta earned a five game suspension for the hit.
