DENVER — The swelling around Colorado Avalanche goalie Darcy KuemperAfter catching a stick blade through the mask of his father, his right eye has stopped bleeding for a week.
He laughed with a smile Sunday after practice.
It is clear that the incident could have been more serious.
Kuemper stated that “I was pretty lucky” and “that it wasn’t better.”
The Nashville center stick Ryan JohansenKuemper's mask had protective bars, so he was able to slip through them and catch him in the eyelid. Game 3 took place on May 7. Kuemper was caught by Kuemper around the eyelid during Game 3 on May 7. This is Kuemper's second inadvertent stick-blade incident in NHL history.
Kuemper said, “Super odd”, and will be back in net as the Avalanche start their second-round series against The. St. Louis Blues. “First time I thought it was one million. Twice is twice as many as a million.
He has no plans to alter the goalie masks.
Kuemper explained that the stick was in the wrong shape and he was hurt after an accidental hit on his backhand goal. It was a frightening situation. … It happened quickly, and it is quite scary, especially when your eyes are involved.”
It occurred late in the first period after the Avs won 7-3. Replays showed Johansen's stick extending through Kuemper's mask as he fought for position near the Avalanche's net. Nathan MacKinnon. Kuemper fell back, before he skewed towards the bench. Kuemper dropped to the ice half-way through.
Kuemper said, “I was skating but kinda blind in my direction.” “The ref was screaming at me to stay low. “That's why I went down again.”
Kuemper then left the locker room to cover his right eye.
Kuemper, 32 years old, stated that he had told him it was more eyelids than eyes. “So that was reassuring.”
Johansen admitted that he was soon “sick to stomach” upon seeing Kuemper's injury. Kuemper was absent for Game 4 — Pavel FrancouzThe Avalanche completed the sweep by filling in the void.
Johansen has not yet spoken to Kuemper, but Kuemper stated that it was “completely accidental and really bad luck.”
Kuemper said, “He's not even turning my way,”
Defenseman Erik JohnsonHe recalled not knowing what was happening.
I thought he was trying to sell it to me to get a punishment. Then, I looked at his eyes …” Johnson. Johnson said, “He wasn't selling it.” It's crazy.
“Fortunately it wasn't on his eyes — just on his eyelids. He's very lucky.
Kuemper was able to take a week off to allow him to heal and for swelling to subside. However, Kuemper won't be thinking about it.
Kuemper said, “Once the game begins, you're there and you're playing,” and he had a 1.63 goals against average in the Nashville series. He stopped 57 of the 61 shots. “We look forward to getting back on the ice again.
His teammates weren't slowing down when he was practicing. They have been getting Kuemper ready for a Blues team with eight forwards scoring at least 50 points during the regular-season.
“It doesn’t help him if we just bring him along slow if he’s out with us,” Colorado defenseman Devon Toews said. “He's doing great work with our goalie coaches, too. We're glad to have him when he's with us.”
