"Thought I could blink it off": Maple Leafs star Ryan Reaves reflects on first injury after face-off with Nicolas Deslauriers

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Mar 22, 2024 22:11 GMT

Toronto Maple Leafs had a rough night, with Ryan Reaves taking a hit in the eye during a fiery showdown with Philadelphia Flyers' Nicolas Deslauriers on Tuesday. Reaves, who's known for his tough plays and grit on the rink, got caught in an unexpected scuffle that left him nursing an injury.

After the eye injury, Reaves sat out Wednesday's game against the Washington Capitals.

As per NHL insider Mark Masters, it was the first time Reaves had encountered such an eye injury during a fight, and he described the whole experience as "weird," mentioning how his vision went fuzzy for a moment.

Reaves said:

"It was weird ... I threw one more & thought I could blink it off & I looked & I saw four or five of him. I’m not LeBron, I can’t aim at the middle"

According to Masters' tweet, Deslauriers apologized after the game.

Now, Reaves is back on the ice, but this time, he's sporting a visor—a new addition to his gear for added protection.

However, his initial reaction to the visor wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He jokingly expressed his dislike for it, albeit acknowledging its importance for safety. Max Domi, his teammate, couldn't resist teasing Reaves about his new look.

"Ryan Reaves has never worn a visor in the NHL How'd it feel today? "Horrible," he said with a big smile. "I hate it." Max Domi chimes in, "He looks really good," Masters tweeted.

Ryan Reaves' Maple Leafs will face Zach Hyman and Oilers

Zach Hyman, a Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player now with the Edmonton Oilers, faces a crucial moment as he targets scoring 50 goals in front of his hometown crowd at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

When asked how it would feel to score the 50th goal in Toronto, Hyman said (via NHL.com):

“Obviously it would be special, but I'm not focused on it.”

Hyman maintains his focus on securing a win against Toronto, a challenge he hasn't conquered since joining the Oilers.

“It’s kind of cool to go into the game and you have an opportunity to do that, but really, I just want to win there. I don't think I've won there since I've been here, so it would be great to go in there and win.”

Since joining Edmonton in July 2021, Hyman has been a key player for the Oilers. It will be interesting to see how Ryan Reaves and the Maple Leafs stop Hyman and his team.