The day after taking a puck to the head, Josh Gorges was back on the ice with his teammates.
(The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes)
Clearly, nothing can stop Josh Gorges. Not even a puck to the head.
Less than 24 hours after taking a Mike Green slap shot on the melon, Gorges was back on the ice with his teammates in preparation for back-to-back contests against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday and Saturday.
“As long as nothing crazy happens between now and tomorrow, I’ll be in the lineup against Philly. You can’t keep me out that easily!” said the brave blue-liner, who had a big white bandage covering the back of his head.
“We’re not skating tomorrow morning so I felt I should get on the ice today. We didn’t skate hard but I pushed myself enough to know that I feel fine,” he added.
He wasn’t feeling any ill effects on Thursday, noting he wouldn’t have been given clearance by to hop on the ice if there was any concern of a possible concussion.
Late in the first period against the Capitals, Gorges went to block Green’s shot from the point, just as he has done game in and game out. As he went down to get his body in front, the whizzing disc hit him square on the backside of the helmet. The power and impact of the shot saw the Kelowna, BC native lay motionless on the ice for a few minutes before leaving on his own power while assisted by the team’s therapists and medical staff.
CLICK TO WATCH: Josh Gorges discusses the incident. (TSN.ca)It was a scary moment for everyone – his team, the fans, and even the opposition. Gorges realized how lucky he was – “There’s gotta be someone looking out for me up there,” he suggested – and relayed the shock and the pain of the incident.
“I’ve never experienced a pain like that. I don’t know what the medical term is but it’s as if my body wasn’t ‘there’ for a second,” he explained. “When I finally came to, I couldn’t move. My body needed a few seconds to realize that I could. Once that shock passed, I felt better.”
Gorges has been an unheralded hero (outside Montreal) on the Canadiens’ back end over the last few seasons. A guy who defines hard work and leadership, the 25-year-old missed just one game in 2008-09, the result of a dangerous elbow to the head from former LA Kings defenceman Denis Gauthier. So far, he’s on pace to keep his record unblemished this season.
And while he hopes to keep that picture perfect, his helmet, though not broken, no longer is.
“I saw my helmet after the game and that’s when I realized how severe the impact was,” said Gorges. “You can see where the puck dented the helmet. It hit it hard but the helmet didn’t break from the impact.”
It seems it would take a lot more than that to take down the head protector. Just like Gorges.
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Quotes courtesy of Radio-Canada.ca
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