It’s pretty incredible to see how a play can unfold and be altered by one simple mistake.
Last night, for Dan Hamhuis, it was his mistake that lead to an unfortunate slap shot to the face.
Hamhuis took control of the puck near his own goal line in what seemed like an innocent play and the start to a Canucks break out. However, he lost control of the puck with a forecheckingĀ Derrick BrassardĀ of the New York Rangers quickly approaching.
With Hamhuis being forced to quickly recover and try to get rid of the puck, he stumbled and turned it over to Brassard. After the turnover, Brassard sent the puck to Dan Boyle for a hard one timer which Hamhuis managed to block…with his face.
The slap shot to the face likely left Hamhuis with a broken jaw, according to Canucks coach Willie Desjardins. The coach also mentioned that he lost some teeth on the play, which is not a surprise after seeing the video.
The Canucks held on to win a close 2-1 game against the Rangers. They are now 11-11-8 and are currently 2nd place in the Pacific Division.