Watch: Michael Del Zotto scrapes Chris Tanev's teeth off ice
Mere moments into the Vancouver Canucks’ clash with the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday, defenceman Chris Tanev already found himself minus two (teeth).
A shot from the point took an unfortunate deflection off Mitch Marner before drilling Tanev directly in the face. The 28-year dropped to the ice while bleeding heavily before heading to the room.
Ouch. Puck gets deflected into Tanev's face. pic.twitter.com/OhVS9LbudH
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) January 7, 2018
It’s been quite an unlucky stretch for Tanev, who has not returned in just his second game since rejoining the lineup after missing six with a groin injury. The blue liner also missed seven games earlier in the season with a thumb ailment.
It wasn’t all bad for Tanev, though. He was fortunate enough to have a D-partner in Michael Del Zotto who went out of his way to make sure his fallen teeth were retrieved from the ice surface before they disappeared into the snowy, bloody abyss.
Like a good D-partner, Del Zotto grabs a few teeth Tanev left on the ice. pic.twitter.com/vClfkNoPF3
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 7, 2018
Del Zotto played more than any other Canucks defenceman in the opening frame, and despite the 0-0 score after 20 minutes, he should have chalked up an assist for this selfless (and somewhat gross) act.
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