Advertisement

After gruesome blocked shot, Matt Calvert wins game for Jackets (Video)

Greg Wyshynski

It looked like a night Matt Calvert of the Columbus Blue Jackets would never forget, for the wrong reasons.

With 10:32 left in the second period on Friday night, Nick Holden of the New York Rangers fired a shot from the point. The puck sailed high, and right off the face of Calvert. Here’s the scene – fair warning, it’s pretty graphic.

Calvert left the ice and headed to the trainers’ room, where he received 36 stitches to close his wound.

Now, did he return to play in the third period?

Of course. He’s a hockey player, and this is just what they do.

Like we said, it looked like a night Matt Calvert would never forget, for the wrong reasons. But at 11:35 of the third period, with the Jackets shorthanded, Calvert made it an unforgettable night for another reason: He scored the game-winning goal in the Jackets’ 4-2 win over the Rangers, the top team in the division.

Wow. That is the celebration of a man who was staring at a pool of his own plasma about 45 minutes earlier.

That’s hockey for you. From agony …

NHL
NHL

… to ecstasy, just like that.

Getty Images
Getty Images

The win moved the Blue Jackets into the second wild card in the East — by far, one of the most bloody good stories of the early going of the season.

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS