Taylor Hall is doubtful for Thursday night's Edmonton Oilers game against the St. Louis Blues because AAAAAAARRRRRGH OMG!
That horror show is a result of Hall getting sliced on the head by the skate of teammate Corey Potter on Tuesday night in Columbus, during a mishap in warm-ups. TSN reported that Hall required 30 stitches from an on-site plastic surgeon.
Hall wasn't made available to the media on Wednesday, so the Edmonton Journal used the old James Reimer-end-around: Calling Hall's mother for an update. And she says Hall has had a safety epiphany.
From Joanne Ireland, it seems Hall will be wearing his helmet in warm-ups, going forward:
"We've had that discussion. Yes, he will be wearing his helmet," said Hall's mother, Kim Strba, from the family home in Kingston, Ont.
… Strba said she talked to her son on Wednesday morning and not only were his spirits good, all things considered, he didn't have any concussion-like symptoms from the blow. What he did say was that when the freezing wore off, he was in considerable pain.
"I think he was thanking his lucky stars. He knows it could have been much worse," Strba said. "I've seen the video a couple of times on TV. It wasn't easy to watch."
So that report on Hall being done for the year sounds a wee bit erroneous.
As for the image above, via the Oilers, ... hey, go figure: Something happened with a Potter and Taylor Hall ends up with the scar on his forehead.
OK, that sucked. We concede the punchline to Colby Cosh: "I like to think Hall's grotesque injury will just bring out his dark side, Harvey Dent-fashion."