March 22, 1989: The Clint Malarchuk Injury

March 22, 1989: One of the scariest injuries in NHL history occurs at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. I won't post the video footage, or a photograph of the blood on the ice. I can tell you that, when the Buffalo Sabres' TV announcers, Ted Darling and Mike Robitaille, saw how bad it was, they went to a commercial.

It was a complete accident, with no harm intended. Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues and Uwe Krupp of the Sabres collided in front of the Sabres’ goal. As Tuttle fell, his legs went up into the air, and the blade of one of his skates cut Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk on the neck, severing his carotid artery.

Sabres trainer Jim Pizzutelli, a former Army combat medic who served in Vietnam, managed to cut the artery off, keeping Malarchuk alive long enough for EMTs to get him to the hospital. He survived, and Bill Masterton of the 1968 Minnesota North Stars remains the only player ever to die as a result of an injury sustained in an NHL game.

Malarchuk was playing again within 10 days, although he was never the same player. He last played in the NHL in 1992, and in the minor leagues in 1996, and went into coaching. The native of Grand Prairie, Alberta became a veterinary dentist, treating animals at his ranch outside Las Vegas.

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March 22, 1989 was a Wednesday. J.J. Watt, one of the best defensive football players of his generation, was born that day.

There were 6 other games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat their Provincial rivals, the Quebec Nordiques, 8-0 at the Montreal Forum. Shayne Corson scored 3 goals, while Chris Chelios had 4 assists.

* The Hartford Whalers beat their New England rivals, the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 6 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat, 107-103 at the Miami Arena.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-97 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the San Antonio Spurs, 115-94 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Bullets, 101-92 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns, 112-111 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Michael Jordan scored 32 points.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 116-112 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.