Auston Matthews Escapes Serious Skate Blade Injury Incident Against the Ducks

During Toronto's Sunday evening game against the Anaheim Ducks, the Leafs were trying to get a two game win streak going and were doing fairly well against the lowly Pacific Division squad.

However it could have been a serious disaster, as captain Auston Matthews narrowly avoided a catastrophe as Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier's skate blade came close to cutting the superstar forward.

Luckily Matthews avoided any serious damage, and may be thinking of wearing a neck guard for the foreseeable future.

The near miss could have been something out of a horror film, and while there was no disaster on this night, it's sadly not something that is new to the world of hockey.

The two most infamous incidents in the NHL were that of Clint Malarchuk, a Buffalo goaltender who needed emergency attention after an errant skate blade caught him in the neck.

Same with Richard Zednik, who ended up being sliced and needed to be tended to immediately, though with the quick actions of both training staffs, the players were able to not only survive, but continue playing.

It might be in the NHL's best interest to introduce some modifications to their equipment and try to install a mandatory neck guard for all players, just like the AHL and USHL have done to prevent these injuries.

While the skate blade may have not come close to Matthews' neck, it did come dangerously close to his face, and while he does wear a visor, that offers little protection to his dome; the helmet is to protect the head against the ice and against errant pucks; there's very minimal protection just for the face.

If the NHL would allow players to wear full face shields regardless of their injury status (they only allow it for specific injuries and are banned from normal usage), that can definitely alleviate the risk, and allow less injuries from high sticks and flying pucks.

But as of now, don't expect any changes from the league, but perhaps Matthews is going to take some extra precautions going forward; a smart idea all things considered.