Concerning scene in Toronto as Rasmus Sandin struck in the eye by errant stick, sending him to the locker room
Rasmus Sandin has had a rough few weeks. A neck injury on December 20th against the Lightning sidelined the young Leafs defender for several weeks, then, in his return, he took an awkward fall face first into the boards. That incident required stitches in his eyebrow. During Thursday Night's matchup against the Seattle Kraken, Sandin once again left the Leafs bench for medical attention from the Leafs training staff.
During the second period, Kraken forward Yanni Gourde attempted a swinging stick check on Sandin. His stick ramped up off of Sandin's and the toe of his blade appeared to catch Sandin directly in the eye. The young Swede was in obvious pain, blinking repeatedly while the area around his eye began to turn red and swell. Gourde was assessed a 4-minute double minor for high sticking on the play.
I was reminded immediately of the grisly incident that nearly cost Leafs defenseman Bryan Bedard his eye in March of 2000. A similar play saw Marian Hossa's stick catch Berard in the eye and cause severe damage, detaching and tearing his retina.
Warning: This video is graphic and may be disturbing to some
Thankfully, Sandin returned to the bench before the end of the second period. His eye looking rather bloodshot, but otherwise he seemed to be alright. The Leafs would score on the ensuing power play to tie the game at 1, but then gave up 3 straight to the Kraken, leaving them trailing 4-1 by the end of the second period.
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