NHL Player Returns to Playoff Game After Skate to the Face Requires 75 Stitches

By Brian Jones

Winnipeg Jets player Morgan Barron took a skate to his face on Tuesday night when the team was taking on the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series, according to ESPN. The injury required 75 stitches, but Barron returned to the ice less than a period later. The incident happened in the first period. Barron was injured during a big scramble in front of the Golden Knights' net as players collapsed in pursuit of a loose puck. His face was hit by the skate of Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit. 

"I was trying to figure out if the puck went in because it was pretty close," Barron said after the game. "I saw the skate coming. It was an unlucky play. The first thought was that I could see out of the [right] eye was the main thing." Barron went to the locker room immediately after the incident but returned in the second period while wearing a full cage on his head. He finished the game with three shots in the Jets' 5-1 victory over the Golden Knights. 

"Looks like he got attacked by a shark," Jets center Adam Lowry said. "It's a scary thing. We're all so worried about the puck crossing the line, and all of the sudden we see a trail of blood all the way from the crease to the bench."  

Jets coach Rick Bowness praised Barron for his toughness. "That's Winnipeg Jet hockey — we're all in — and Morgan is a perfect example of that tonight," Bowness said, per NHL.com. "Give him a lot of credit, that takes a lot of courage. That was a pretty serious cut, so give him a ton of credit man, for coming back and playing. And that's an inspiration for our players as well. I think Morgan's presence coming back from that — because they all realized how bad it was — that it gave everyone a big boost."

Barron is playing in his second season with the Jets and was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in 2017. During the 2022-23 regular season, Barron played in 14 games and scores two goals with two assists. He made his NHL debut in 2021 after playing at Cornell University for three seasons. 

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