"It Feels Pretty Good, Actually" - Morgan Barron After 75 Stitches to the Face

Hockey players are just built differently. Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron is a shining example of that.

Midway through the opening frame of Game 1 of Winnipeg's first round matchup, Barron found himself atop the crease in a net front scramble for the puck. 

Battling with five or six other players to gain control and push the disc into the goal, the 24-year-old forward fell onto the pile of players, including that of former Winnipeg goaltender Laurent Brossoit. 

With his arms tied up and his feet taken out from beneath him, Barron landed face-first on Brossoit's skate blade. He immediately began bleeding and headed straight to the Jets' dressing room for medical attention.

"I was trying to figure out if the puck went in because it was pretty close," Barron laughed post-game. "I kinda saw the skate coming and just an unlucky play I think, a little bit unfortunate. I think the first thought was that I could see out of the eye so that was the main thing."

The pool of blood on the ice was quite visible, and replay after replay showed the extent of the damage done while the ice crew attempted to take care of the situation at hand. 

“He looked like he got attacked by a shark to be honest," forward Adam Lowry said of the incident. “It's a scary thing. We're all so worried about the puck crossing the line, and all of a sudden we see a trail of blood, basically from the crease all the way to the bench.”

Barron somehow miraculously re-appeared on the Jets' bench halfway through the second period, sporting a heavily bandaged forehead and a full cage over his face.

"They did a great job stitching me up and obviously it missed my eye so just glad it didn't get me in a really bad spot," he added.

After sitting out Wednesday's optional skate to allow his swelling to minimize, Barron returned to the rink on Thursday, sporting a colourful shiner and his ever-present smile.

“You know, some guys have told me it looks better than I expected and some guys look at me like I'm a science project," Barron joked. "So, I've kind of gotten both ends of the spectrum, but it feels pretty good actually. I think it feels better than it looks.”

The immediate concern was that of his eye and vision. The secondary concern was any major ruptured blood vessels. But somehow the second-year Jet survived the grisly encounter and will soon own a unique scar, which is currently being held together by upwards of 75 stitches.

“His modelling days, I think, are over," Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon laughed. "He might have to move to hand model or foot model from the Hugo Boss stuff he was doing earlier."

Barron's piercing blue eyes are certainly still in tact. He admitted to having sent out messages to his parents and girlfriend during the game, but it was the influx of texts that arrived following that moment that caught him off guard. 

"It’s been more than I expected, obviously. It’s kind of a weird sentiment,” he added. “You expect your phone to blow up for doing something, rather than having something happen to me. It’s been a little weird, but everybody reaching out has been so positive. It definitely feels really good to have that support from everybody.”

Even on the other side of the ice, it was Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson, who recognized the severity of the scary situation and actually helped lift the helpless Barron off of Brossoit's skate blade, likely minimizing the damage done to his face.

“I will give him a little tap on the shin pads tonight to thank him," Barron said of Stephenson. "But you know, it is obviously a really classy move, especially in the thick of things, it's obviously intense out there but I really appreciated his effort and just helped me out a little bit."

Barron and his teammates will return to action at 9:00 PM central time from the familiar T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as the two clubs regroup for Game 2, following Winnipeg's lopsided 5-1 victory in the opening match of the best-of-seven series. Thursday's game can be viewed live on Sportsnet.