Thirty-seven year-old dreamboat Joe Thornton got eliminated from the playoffs when his San Jose Sharks fell to the Edmonton Oilers in six games. Thornton played in the final four of those games, and he did it with a significant knee injury.
As Coach Pete DeBoer put it, his knee was “just floating.”
The MCL and ACL are the medial collateral ligament and anterior cruciate ligament, two tough connections between your knee and the rest of your leg. ACL and MCL injuries often require surgery and lengthy recovery periods.
DeBoer says Thornton's knee was just floating. MCL, ACL injuries
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) April 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/KKurzNBCS/status/856573853446717444
That’s either heroic (how gritty! what dedication! please like my sport!) or reckless (his knee didn’t work while he was playing hockey.) I know where I stand, but maybe I just lack passion.
Other injuries among the Sharks include Patrick Marleau with a broken thumb and Tomas Hertl with a broken foot. Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson, who is still playing, has admitted to having a fractured heel. No idea why he disclosed that.
They all join Nikita Zaitsev in the “he wha-? why?!” category of playing through injuries this postseason.
