Laperriere received 60-70 stitches

Earlier tonight we reported to you that Ian Laperriere left tonight’s Flyers-Devils Game 5 after blocking a shot with his face. The puck hit him in the eyebrow and it was reported that he had to get between 60 and 70 stitches to close up the gash.

To call Ian Laperriere a tough guy is an understatement, but in post game interviews he did say that he’ll make a change to his equipment the rest of the way.

“I will wear a shield now,” he said. “That was my last warning. I will wear one for the rest of my career. I am dead serious.

“It’s stupid. I’m mad at myself and not the shooter. It’s a position you don’t want to be in. It’s too bad I needed that to make me realize that I need to wear a shield.”

To say these are serious and somber-like words from a player who’s been nothing but blood and guts his whole career is understating things wildly. Then again, it sometimes takes something terrible and shocking to get a player to make a drastic personal change like this. Back in 2005, Steve Yzerman made a similar change after suffering a scratched cornea from being hit in the eye with a puck during the playoffs.