Jeff Petry suffered a broken pinky finger in the playoffs that was also the source of his bloodshot eyes upon his return against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Montreal Canadiens defenceman told reporters Friday.
Petry, who came back from a two-game absence in Game 2 versus Vegas, revealed during his season-ending availability that his red eyes, which garnered significant attention on social media, occurred after his finger was set back into place.
“I passed out and basically popped all the blood vessels in my eyes,” Petry said, per Sportsnet‘s Eric Engels.
The team’s top defenceman called the injury a “freak accident,” which occurred after his pinky got caught in a photographer’s hole in the glass during Game 3 of the Canadiens’ second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets. Petry originally thought he’d dislocated the digit.
Petry opted against getting surgery that would’ve sidelined him for six to eight weeks, and was instead in a cast for a week.
“It was painful,” he said.
Despite the injury, the 33-year-old puck-moving D-man put up six points in 20 games, averaging the third-most minutes on the team (24:04).
To stay on the ice, Petry had to tape his fingers together, making it harder to grip his stick.
“I couldn’t really use my free hand to push off much,” he said.
Petry — who put up points at career-best rate in 2020-21, finishing with 42 in 55 games — is hopeful he avoided surgery on his finger, but is slated to have a follow-up appointment to see how the injury has healed.
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