Thursday, ahead of their game against the Colorado Avalanche, the Washington Capitals took the ice for warmups without their lids. The Capitals were wearing specially-designed camouflaged hats and jerseys to celebrate Military Appreciate Night. The camo gear was later auctioned off to raise money for charity.
A helmetless Michal Kempny was an unlucky victim of some pregame pain, taking a puck to the right cheek during drills.
He immediately bent over and clutched his face, needing attention from the Capitals medical staff.
According to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, a frustrated Kempny “slammed the [bench] gate a couple of times” as he held a towel to his face.
Kempny apparently took a puck to the face in warmups. He's out there, but he seems pretty frustrated on the bench. Just slammed the gate a couple times. Was holding a towel to his face.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) February 8, 2019
The bad bounce did not keep Kempny from playing, though he did display a gnarly bruise. He also put a tampon up his nose to keep his right nostril from bleeding.
And because hockey players are tough, Kempny ended up receiving 21:59 of ice time — second most among all Capitals defenseman.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Avalanche
Headline photo: NBC Sports Washington
