from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

I don’t know how they do it. I really don’t.

Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli, who takes face-offs for a living, revealed that he had sprained the ligaments that hold the collar bone to the shoulder sometime in the Western final. He played through it. Then he dislocated his other shoulder in the next round. And had his arm stepped on.

He didn’t miss a game in the playoffs.

Valeri Nichushkin, who required a walking boot to get around, played with a broken foot. Nazem Kadri, who couldn’t tie his own skates, played with a broken thumb. Ryan McDonagh played with what was simply described as a “mangled finger.”

It seemed like everyone either had a knee sprain or a shoulder sprains. Nick Paul unfortunately had both.

Brayden Point suffered a “significant” tear to his quad muscle, which is kind of essential for skating — much less walking — at the end of the first round. The recovery time is usually four-to-six months. He was back playing in 32 days, before tearing it again after a couple of games.

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