Tony DeAngelo took a puck to the head during warmups in Ottawa tonight, and the Islanders spent the minutes before puck drop holding their breath.
The picture afterward told the story. A raw red mark sat high on his forehead, just below the hairline, with the skin around it already flushed.
Nobody wants that image coming out of a pregame skate. Especially not on a road trip where the Islanders are still hunting for their first win away from home.
They're 0-2-0 on the road so far. Tonight's stop in Ottawa opens a two-game swing that continues Saturday in Toronto. They finally lost 2-1 in shootouts.
The clip is uncomfortable to watch. Pucks litter the zone, bodies cross near the faceoff circle, and two Islanders suddenly tangle up by the hash marks as a teammate rushes in.
Status for tonight? Nothing official on whether the veteran dresses. Peter DeBoer's lineup card just got a lot more complicated.
Bare heads in warmups just handed the Islanders a scare
And here's where the old argument comes roaring back. Every few seasons, a puck finds somebody's head during warmups, and everybody wonders why helmets stay on the bench.
Wear the lid. The tradition argument holds about as much water as skipping your seatbelt because the drive to the rink only takes ten minutes.
Warmups aren't a gentle skate anymore. Guys are letting it rip at game speed, pucks are ricocheting off posts and shin pads, and players are gliding heads-down through traffic.
The timing makes this worse for New York. Alexander Romanov is already out with a knee injury expected to keep him sidelined until at least April 8.
Bo Horvat has carried the power play with three power-play goals. But this team needs its veterans healthy to start stacking wins outside of its own building.
Ottawa won't be handing anything out either. The Senators sit at 5-2-0, even after getting buried 7-2 by St. Louis on Tuesday.
Tim Stutzle leads them with 11 points, and Linus Ullmark owns a .948 save percentage. Not exactly a soft landing for a road team with something to prove.
Ilya Sorokin's .934 save percentage keeps the Islanders in most nights. He can't do much about a puck that finds a teammate before the anthem.
Should the NHL make helmets mandatory in warmups for everyone after the Tony DeAngelo scare?
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