Reporter Sets the Record Straight on What Leafs' Chris Tanev Spit Out After Recent Injury

It was a grizzly scene on New Year's Eve when the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the New York Islanders as Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev was in agony after blocking a shot with his face.

While battling in front of the net with the Isles' Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal unleashed a hard shot from the blueline that deflected off the stick of Jake McCabe and caught Chris Tanev right in the mouth.

While he managed to put his shot blocking ability on full display in the win over the New York Islanders, there was clearly damage done as Tanev was left bloodied and spit something out of his mouth while heading over to the bench.

There were plenty of people who thought the wad that came from Tanev's mouth during the spit take was teeth or bone mixed in with the blood. David Alter of The Hockey News confirmed on Saturday that that's not the case.

According to Alter, what came from Tanev's mouth was a wad of chewing gum, something the player himself has confirmed.

That's good news for Tanev, who puts his body on the line night after night, including being on the receiving end of a recent questionable hit from from the New York Islanders' Casey Cizikas in the very next game, which took place on Jan. 2.

It's a safe bet that if Tanev had lost teeth on the blocked shot, they probably wouldn't have been his original ones anyway, seeing as how those are already long gone.

Tanev's willingness to get into the dirty areas and do whatever it takes to win is something that has really endeared him to Leafs Nation very quickly.