The first major injury I remember is when Duncan Keith lost 7 teeth in May of 2010. The Blackhawks were playing the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final. Even though Chicago was up in the series 3-0 game four was not a walk in the park by any means; San Jose was fighting for their lives.
The puck rebounded after a shot attempt and San Jose player, Patrick Marleau, attempted to clear the zone. Keith was on the receiving end of the puck. Marleau unintentionally hit the puck directly into Keith's mouth.
San Jose scored shortly after this while Keith slowly made his way to the bench, putting the Sharks up 2-0. With Keith in the locker room it wasn't looking good for the hawks...About six minutes later Brent Seabrook scored a goal on the power play and put the hawks on the board. One minute later Keith returned to the ice for the last minute and a half of the second period.
The hawks came back to win the game clinching the Western Conference Final and going to the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years.
Keith clocked 29 minutes of ice time, even with his seven minutes in the locker room, and the rest is history.
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