The Phoenix Coyotes eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six games during the opening round. Chicago defenseman Sami Lepisto, however, received a lovely parting gift after blocking an opponent's shot during the series.
OK, maybe "lovely" wasn't the right word:
O.M.G. ...
That was a photo the 27-year-old Finnish player tweeted on Monday (@SamiLepisto), and it quickly became a viral hit on the web via sites like Deadspin and Larry Brown Sports. Lepisto's message that accompanied this image of his deep leg bruise:
"This is why I shouldn't be blocking slap shots!"
The question then becomes: Which player blasted him in the leg to cause this horror show?
Lepisto played three games in the series against Phoenix.
In Game 2, he didn't register a blocked shot. In Game 5, he blocked a Lauri Korpikoski slap shot at 17:52 of the second period. In Game 6, he blocked a Keith Yandle snap shot at 16:51 of the first period.
We have our suspicions that it was Korpikoski that turned Lepisto's leg into the Shroud of Turin; not only because his was a slap shot that Lepisto blocked, but because Lepisto didn't return for the third period and overtime for the Blackhawks in Game 5 after blocking that shot.
Via reader Danny Kushner, here's what appears to be the block in question:
So that's our best guess.
Lepisto becomes the latest hockey player to show off his battle damage via social media. In the last year and a half, we've had AHL player Ryan Duncan tweet his skate-slashed face; the Edmonton Oilers tweet star Taylor Hall's Frankenstein head after a skate cut in practice; and then there was Toronto Maple Leafs forward Darryl Boyce getting his nose lacerated by the photographer's hole in the glass. (Warning: None of those images are for the faint of heart.)
No matter how Sami Lepisto received that bruise … ouch. Just … ouch.
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