Scary moment during Philadelphia’s dominating 5-game series win over the Devils – Ian Laperriere goes down to block a shot from Paul Martin and the puck strikes him right above his left eye.
“The Flyers lost shot blocker extraordinaire Ian Laperriere 3:56 into the third after he took a puck in the face when he went down to block a shot from the point by Martin with his team killing their sixth Devils’ power-play of the game.
The cut would require 60-70 stitches, but Laperriere swore that he’d “never play without a visor again” after this injury.
“I walked back into the medical room and I couldn’t see anything,’’ Laperriere said. “It’s not a good feeling. I want to see my kids with both of my eyes (as) they grow up. It took this to make me realize I need to wear a shield (to avoid) making a stupid mistake again.” {Philly Burbs}
He’ll have some time to recover, as Philadelphia was the first of all teams to advance to the Semi-finals, but no word yet on whether or not Ian Laperriere will be in the lineup for the Flyers in the next round.