Hockey players are continuously out to prove they are cut from a different cloth.
We’ve seen players take sticks to face, lose teeth, break bones (see Bruins’ Gregory Campbell in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs), and remain out on the ice.
It almost certainly looked like the Buffalo Sabres had lost their top goal scorer Saturday in Jeff Skinner, when he suffered what looked like a gruesome leg injury against the Washington Capitals. The Sabres winger got his feet tangled by Washington Capitals forward Carl Hagelin early in the second period, and his ankle twisted underneath as he fell to the ice.
Skinner had to be helped off the ice, and couldn’t put any weight on his ankle.
https://twitter.com/NBCSCapitals/status/1099387825001299969
But Skinner was back on the ice when the Sabres emerged for the third period, helping Buffalo pick up a 5-2 win over the Caps. Skinner leads the Sabres with 36 goals, so seeing the winger suit up and return for the third had to have been a major sigh of relief for the team, which is trying to make a late-season push for a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
