Islanders' Johnny Boychuk Gets 90 Stitches After Taking Skate to Face on Video

New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk was involved in a scary moment during the third period of a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, as Habs forward Artturi Lehkonen inadvertently cut Boychuk's face with his skate during a net-front battle.

Sensing the potential danger, Boychuk immediately skated off the ice and did not return for the remainder of the game.

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello provided an update Wednesday and said Boychuk is "OK" since the blade only caught his eyelid, although it required 90 small stitches to repair it:

Boychuk later issued a statement about the injury on Twitter: 

Boychuk's brother, David Boychuk, was the first to indicate that Johnny avoided what could have been a catastrophic injury:

The 36-year-old is in the midst of his 13th NHL season and his sixth with the Isles. In 64 games this season, Boychuk has registered two goals and nine assists for 11 points with 14 penalty minutes and a minus-11 rating.

The Edmonton native has 206 points in 725 career regular-season games and 30 points in 101 playoff contests. His career highlight came in 2011 when he won a Stanley Cup as the member of the Boston Bruins.

This season, Boychuk has been a key cog on the blue line for an Islanders team that owns the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and is tied for third in the conference in goals allowed with 181.

If Boychuk is forced to miss time following Tuesday's incident, Noah Dobson is the likeliest option to fill in as part of New York's third defensive pairing.