Nashville Predators’ star forward Matt Duchene reportedly suffered a rather gruesome injury in the club’s Mar. 26 home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
According to former NHL goalie and current NHL on TNT analyst Darren Pang (via Alex Daugherty of A to Z Sports), Duchene lost the tip of his left ring finger after blocking a shot in the game vs. Toronto.
A clip of Duchene blocking the shot, and another clip of him skating to the bench without his glove on, can be seen below (WARNING: Video may be disturbing for some viewers).
After the game, Duchene was ruled week-to-week with an upper body injury. He has not played since the Toronto game, which the Maple Leafs won by a final score of 3-2. The 32-year-old has 22 goals and 56 points for the Predators this season.
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Thanks to a second-half slump by the Winnipeg Jets, the Predators (38-30-8 entering play on Tuesday night) remain alive in the Western Conference playoff race. Winnipeg occupies the second wild card spot with 89 points, and the Preds sit at 84 points with a game in hand.
Winnipeg isn’t the only team Nashville has to surpass, though. The Calgary Flames are just two points behind Winnipeg for the last playoff spot, though Nashville also has a game in hand on Darryl Sutter’s club.
The Predators will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night before welcoming another top club in the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. Their regular season will conclude with a home tilt against the Colorado Avalanche on Apr. 14.
