Thursday night, Daniel Winnik, in Barry Trotz’s words, was “missing a part of his ear” after blocking a shot from the point with his head. Winnik returned to the game after that scary moment and did not miss a shift. But his injury sounded nasty.

“He got chewed up a little bit,” Trotz said “Yeah, it’s just a small piece [that’s missing].”

On Saturday, Winnik practiced for the first time since his ear injury and RMNB’s Chris Gordon captured a photo of the side of Winnik’s head where he was struck.

Thankfully it looks like Winnik escaped Thursday night without a serious injury. There are small scabs on Winniks’ earl lobe and outer ear, but otherwise he looks fine.

After practice, Winnik revealed that part of his ear was split and it had to be glued back together by team doctors. He did not have to receive any stitches and there are no concussion concerns.

https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/789857633952038913

“I wouldn’t say I lost a piece of it,” Winnik said. “I mean, it’s really chewed up, scabs and all that. No visible piece.”

“The puck hit basically half ear, a little more ear than helmet,” Winnik continued. “[I’m] very fortunate it wasn’t way worse. I think if I don’t turn my head it’s probably hitting me in the jaw.”

Winnik is the only Capitals player who doesn’t wear a face shield. Despite his scary injury, that won’t change.

“My face has been banged up over the years,” he said. “I still haven’t worn the visor. I’ve probably broken my nose like 15 times.”

“It was hard to eat after the game,” Winnik added. “When Jojo scored at the end of the game I gave a big ‘Yeah!’ and was like ‘Oh crap!'”

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon.