Werenski returns, for a while, after shot to face
Zach Werenski lost a hockey game he did not finish Sunday night and won the admiration of everyone who watched him return from a gruesome laceration under his right eye.
The Blue Jackets rookie defenseman was struck by a Phil Kessel shot — the puck rode up Werenski’s stick — in the second period on a play in which the Penguins eventually scored. But Werenski, who scored a firstperiod goal, returned for the third period to huge applause from the sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena wearing a face shield.
The 19-year-old could not come out for overtime, coach John Tortorella said, because his right eye swelled shut.
“It doesn’t surprise me with him," Tortorella said after the Penguins outlasted the Jackets 5-4 in overtime. "It got to the point where he couldn’t see. That’s why he didn’t play in OT.”
Werenski missed the final four games of the regular season recovering from an apparent shoulder injury. His composed play has been applauded by the Blue Jackets and Penguins.
He gave the Blue Jackets a 3-1 firstperiod lead on a wrist shot that snuck just under the crossbar. It was his first postseason point. But the evening grew scary for Werenski and the Jackets at 13:25 of the second period as Kessel’s shot smacked the youngster in the face. As Werenski lie face down on the ice bleeding, officials allowed play to continue and the Penguins scored for a 3-3 tie.
“I don’t know what the call is there,” center Brandon Dubinsky said. “It’s dangerous. You don’t know what happened to the guy. There’s blood everywhere. It’s in his face. I think the whistle (should blow), but it didn’t.”
According to NHL rule 8.1, paragraph 5: “When a player is injured so that he cannot continue play or go to his bench, the play shall not be stopped until the injured player’s team has secured control of the puck. If the player’s team is in control of the puck at the time of injury, play shall be stopped immediately unless his team is in a scoring position.”
Dubinsky, an alternate captain, lauded Werenski for returning with his face already swelling and stitched.
"I’m just proud of the leadership he showed to come back and play and make a difference, Dubinsky said. “It speaks to the maturity of the kid and he’s a warrior and I’m proud of him.”
Milano moves in
With Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert serving a one-game suspension, Sonny Milano went into the lineup and prompted a shuffling of lines.
Boone Jenner took Calvert’s spot with center William Karlsson and right winger Josh No. 1 penalty kill unit next to Karlsson.
Calvert was suspended for his cross-check to the arm of Pittsburgh’s Tom Kuhnhackl late in Game 2.
“I’m not even going to discuss it,” Tortorella said before faceoff. “The league takes care of (that) business; we’ll just worry about the game. We’ll miss him, though. We’ll miss him.”
Slap shots
Werenski wasn’t the only player to leave blood on the ice. Penguins center Nick Bonino took a puck to the face in the first period and later returned. … The world’s No. 3 golfer and Westerville resident Jason Day attended the game.