Devils' Sami Vatanen: Injuries specified as concussion, facial laceration
Vatanen is said to have sustained a concussion and facial laceration from the hit by Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov in Game 4 of the conference quarterfinals, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Hockey players have been known to play through significant injuries when the Stanley Cup is on the line -- for example, Philadelphia's Sean Couturier played through a torn MCL against the Penguins in these playoffs -- but concussions are generally handled with greater care since it affects the brain and a player's mental capacity, so it's no surprise that Vatanen didn't suit up for Game 5 on Saturday despite his injury originally labeled as the more generic "upper body" type. The Devils have been eliminated from the playoffs, which hopefully gives Vatanen ample time to recover.