from Kevin Allen of USA TODAY,

The tradition of NHL players playing through all manner of injuries, ailments and pain is as old as the game itself.

NHL lore boasts many tales of NHLers playing through injuries, such as Bobby Baun, playing on a broken leg and scoring an overtime goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1964 Stanley Cup Final. During the 1992 playoffs, Mario Lemieux's back was so bad, the equipment man had to lace his skates.

In 2002, Steve Yzerman helped the Detroit Red Wings win a Stanley Cup with a knee so severely damaged that Yzerman was forced to use his stick as leverage to push himself up when he was knocked to the ice. He needed knee realignment surgery in the offseason.

“I think it’s a pride thing,” former NHL player Bill Guerin, now the Pittsburgh Penguins’ assistant general manager, told USA TODAY Sports. “You want to be out there when all of the chips are on the line.”

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