The most justifiable time to sacrifice your body in order to prevent a play is in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist displayed this “Because it’s the Cup” mentality on Monday.
In the second period of the Penguins Game 4 Stanley Cup Final matchup, the 29-year-old put his body on the line by blocking a shot in the second period. It was a dangerous looking play as Hornqvist dived in front of a puck, which promptly hit him in the temple. It’s hard to watch.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/740000507998130178
Here’s another look where you can see Hornqvist take it right on the corner of his head. Again, it’s a bit NSFW if you’re queasy about potential head injuries. (H/T theScore).
https://vine.co/v/i3Z7FqjUzHw
Hornqvist seemed unfazed with the contact and didn’t leave the game, finishing with over 20 minutes of ice time in the matchup.
It’s safe to say Hornqvist is extremely lucky he’s playing in an era where helmets are mandatory, because if he wasn’t wearing one that would be a kill shot. Getting hit with a puck in the temple would do serious damage. With the helmet on, it deflected off of Hornqvist and he seemed to be OK. He’s very, very lucky.
