On Vesey’s Christmas list: two front teeth
Rangers second-year winger Jimmy Vesey narrowly avoided disaster in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Oilers.
Early in the second period, Vesey was battling for a puck with Edmonton forward Zack Kassian. Vesey shoved Kassian with his shoulder, and the two players went sprawling onto the ice. In the process, Kassian’s skate collided with Vesey’s mouth, leaving him bloodied as he left the ice and walked to the dressing room. Luckily for Vesey, the blade of Kassian’s skate didn’t make contact with his skin.
Vesey missed the remainder of the second period but returned for the third with a full cage on his helmet. After the game, Alain Vigneault revealed that Vesey’s two front teeth were knocked out, and they ended up lodged in his lip.
“He’s got a couple teeth right now in his lip,” Vigneault said. “So they’re going to find a way to take them out.”
Vesey confirmed the diagnosis with a tweet after the game. Vesey included a picture of his mouth and an X-ray of his face, along with the caption “That’s hockey #SorryMa.”
“Hockey will be hockey, eh?” Vignault said.
Vesey played just more than 11 minutes in the win. He scored two goals in Wednesday’s win over the Bruins and has five points on the season. —Popper