Jordie Benn's quotes about trying to play through an injury show just how tough of a player he really is
Prior to the beginning of the regular season, Jordie Benn suffered a groin injury in a pre-season game that sidelined him until November, when he finally made his official Leafs debut. It was a triumphant one as he registered the game winning goal against his former team in Vancouver. Benn would go on to play another five games before leaving a game against the Devils on November 23rd with an upper-body injury. During the game, Benn did try to come back, but quickly discovered that his injury was not something that he could play through. He has been out of action ever since.
Speaking after practice on Monday, Benn discussed his injury saying, "I just made a play on the blue line and felt something and threw it down low back to Willy and felt it again when I rotated. And then on the next shift, I had to make a long stretch pass and I was like 'there's something going on.'"
At the time, the Leafs had lost Morgan Rielly a few days before and were already thin on the blue line without Rielly, TJ Brodie and Jake Muzzin. Being without those three prompted Benn to try to play through the injury after receiving treatment between the second and third.
"I definitely didn't want to f*** off on anybody... it felt like after every game we were dropping one D-man a game. So when I wasn't feeling good I was like, 'I gotta try to keep going here.'"
Known for being a tough customer throughout his career, Benn had to be in a considerable amount of pain for him to stop playing against the Devils, particularly because the Leafs were trying to defend a lead and end the Devils' 13-game winning streak.
"I've been around long, that sh**'s going to happen. Mentally, yeah, it's frustrating. You don't want to get hurt but it is what it is. There's no point in sulking about it. Just get healthy and keep working out," said Benn about his recovery process and joining the team for his first full practice in two weeks. Benn could draw into the lineup at some point over the next few games, depending how the blueline fairs over the next week, but if they continue to play as well as they have, there is no point in changing things just for the sake of changing things. Taking some extra time to ensure that Benn is back to 100% might be the play here.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 12 | 5 ANSWERS Jordie Benn's quotes about trying to play through an injury show just how tough of a player he really is Should the Leafs re-sign Jordie Benn after this season? | ||
| Yes | 5 | 100 % |
| No | 0 | 0 % |
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