BOSTON — Joe Colborne wasn't able to participate in Boston's 2-1 overtime win against the Islanders' rookies on Thursday night, but he could at least appreciate that he had avoided a serious injury when struck in the face on Wednesday.
Colborne spoke with the media up in the press box during the second intermission of Thursday's game, confirming that he did not suffer a broken nose but did have cuts to his face that required around 26 to 28 stitches to close.
It's the second time in Colborne's brief pro career that he's needed some needlework on his face, as he was also cut in his six-game stint with Providence last year after his college season at Denver ended.
"So in seven [pro] games, I've got probably 40 stitches now, so hopefully that trend stops pretty quick," said Colborne.
Fortunately, Colborne doesn't have a similar history of head injuries, and he even tried to talk his way into Thursday's lineup.
"[Wednesday] night, I was feeling a little woozy, got my bell rung a little bit, but I've been pretty fortunate my whole life that I've never had any concussion problems," said Colborne. "My head cleared up right away and I was feeling fine and this morning I went to talk with the doctors and I told them I felt great and all of the tests came back strong. So I thought I might be able to squeeze my way back into the lineup [on Thursday], but they said there's no need to push it, so here I am standing up here."
Colborne did so well on his tests that he was even able to take a playful shot at some of his Bruins teammates from the junior ranks.
"I got every one right, or 29 of the 30 questions right," said Colborne of his test results. "I was saying that I didn't think any of the WHL guys were going to be able to do that, even without a concussion."
