GRIN AND BEAR IT

Not even a puck to the mouth could stop the Iron Man from taking the ice. During the 1st period of a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, Keith Yandle was struck by a puck and lost or cracked nine of his teeth. An injury that might knock most players out for a couple games kept Yandle out for only a period. “I was surprised to see him come back because it looked so bad, but at the same time, I was not surprised,” said Aaron Ekblad. After getting stitched up in the locker room, the defenseman returned to the ice in the 3rd period wearing a cage on his mask to protect his mouth. Yandle kept wearing the cage for a couple months while he healed and, of course, never missed a game during that stretch.