Tim Stutzle was in high spirits as he discussed the puck that hit him near his right eye on Thursday. The Ottawa Senators centre is incredibly thankful that the injury wasn’t more serious.
“It could have been much worse,” Stutzle shared after the team’s skate on Monday at the Bell Sensplex. “But no one was really to blame. I was driving the net, Josh (Norris) was trying to pass, and it deflected under my visor. There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s just the game we play. I was a bit lucky.”
The 21-year-old is fortunate the injury didn’t result in more damage. Stutzle was struck in the face during the first period of Ottawa’s 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre. A pass attempt from Norris deflected off Ryan Pulock’s stick and hit Stutzle. The impact left him needing stitches for a cut, and he reported blurry vision when he returned to the ice for the second and third periods.
On Friday, Stutzle couldn’t skate with the team due to the lack of vision in his eye, but it improved as the game progressed. By Saturday, he was able to play in the Senators’ 3-2 overtime win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden, though there had been some uncertainty about whether he would be able to suit up. Head coach Travis Green waited until Stutzle woke from his afternoon nap to check if his vision had returned.
“I feel pretty good,” Stutzle said. “The days after were tough, but it got better as the game went on.”
Once it was clear that Stutzle was fine, his teammates couldn’t resist teasing him, though Norris felt guilty about the incident. “Josh wanted to buy me something because he felt so bad, but I kept telling him it wasn’t his fault. He was just trying to make a play,” Stutzle explained. “They think I look pretty tough right now.”
“It’s funny, and the best part is how bad Josh felt, but we’ve gotten over it,” he added with a laugh.
