Capitals Defenseman Steven Oleksy Breaks Skate, Struggles Mightily to Get to Bench (Video)

NHL players are so ridiculously good at what they do that you sometimes kind of forget that it’s a game played on a big sheet of ice. And when you take away a player’s ability to skate, you’re quickly reminded how humbling a sheet of ice can be.

That’s what happened to Washington Capitals defenseman Steven Oleksy on Monday night as the Caps took on the Vancouver Canucks. The D-man broke a skate blade in the first period after blocking a shot.

That’s where things got dicey for Oleksy. He tried — oh man, did he try — to get back to the bench. He eventually succeeded in that endeavor but it certainly wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t easy.

Check out the awkward adventure below.