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DENVER (AP) — Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov was taken to the hospital for evaluation after a puck hit him on the left side of his face in Game 4 against Colorado on Sunday.
Jets coach Rick Bowness had no further update on Namestnikov following a 5-1 loss in a first-round series that Colorado leads 3-1.
Namestnikov was trying to jump out of the way of a shot from teammate Nate Schmidt when the puck hit a stick and struck him midway through the third period. Namestnikov stayed down on the ice as trainers rushed out. He skated off with help and exited through the Avalanche bench. The 31-year-old Namestnikov had a towel pressed to his face.
“It’s scary,” Winnipeg teammate Mark Scheifele said. “You never want to see that much blood, no matter what, no matter who it is. Especially a guy on our squad. That sucks. All you can do is hope and pray that he’s OK. That’s a scary one. Just got to pray for him.”
Nashville captain Roman Josi and Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers each took pucks to the face in the first period of Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Both returned early in the second period.
Josi, the 2020 Norris Trophy winner, took a puck off the face near his right ear. He went back on the ice for his seventh shift of the first period. That lasted 8 seconds until an official sent him to the bench, and Josi went into the tunnel for treatment skating only 4:53 of the first.
Then Nashville center Tommy Novak's shot at the right circle hit Myers near his nose with 1:35 left in the period. Myers dropped to the ice, and a trainer rushed out to put a towel to his face before going with him to the bench.
It's the second scary situation involving the Jets in the series.
In Friday's game, Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon suffered a laceration on his hand that required stitches. Dillon was apparently cut by a skate blade during a scrum after the final horn. He skated toward the locker room holding his bleeding hand.
Dillon was ruled out Sunday.
“There are a lot of stitches holding it together, so our doctors are a little hesitant to put him back in this quick,” Bowness said. "If you asked him, he’d play. He’d just tape the whole hand up and play. He has that much desire.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL