New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk required 90 stitches to repair a cut around his eyelid after being hit in the face by the skate of the Montreal Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen on Tuesday night, team president/general manager Lou Lamoriello told reporters Wednesday.
Lamoriello said Boychuk suffered no damage to his eye.
"He had quite a night. ... He felt the skate blade hit his eye, but fortunately it just got the eyelid and they took 90 stitches to fix," Lamoriello said. "He'll be fine. It's just a matter of time with the eye opening up."
There is no timetable on his return.
In a tweet Wednesday, Boychuk thanked those who wished him well after he was hurt.
Thank you to everyone for the positive messages and thoughts! I am extremely grateful. Please know they did not go unheard. Luckily for me the skate only cut my eyelid. Sorry for the late response...facial recognition wasn't working... thank you again my friends. Johnny B
— Johnny Boychuk (@joboych) March 4, 2020
Both players were in front of the New York net when Lehkonen appeared to lose his balance and fall forward, causing his legs to kick back and his right skate to connect with Boychuk's face as he looked downward.
Boychuk immediately went down to the ice with his hand covering his face before skating off in pain.
The Canadiens won the game 6-2.
