Clint Malarchuk Incident

Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk suffered a throat injury during the St Louis Blues vs Buffalo Sabres game on March 22, 1989. St Louis forward Steve Tuttle collided with Buffalo defenceman Uwe Krupp in front of the goal. As they were sliding into the net, the skate of Steve Tuttle sliced open Malarchuk's throat. His internal carotid artery was cut, and blood was gashing out.

With a pool of blood in front of him, he tried to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on his throat. His team's athletic trainer, Jim Pizzutelli, immediately came to his assistance. He was helped off the ice. In the dressing room and in the ambulance, doctors began working on him and used over 300 stitches to close the wound. He stayed overnight in the hosptital. He was very lucky. According to the doctors, if the skate hit 1/8 inch higher on Malarchuk's jugular, he would have been dead in two minutes.

Surprisingly, Malarchuk returned to practice four days later, and played against the Quebec Nordiques a week later.

Bill Masterton Incident

The fatal incident took place in a game between Minnesota North Stars and Oakland Seals on Jan 13, 1968. North Stars forward Bill Masterton was checked by Oakland players Larry Cahan and Ron Harris. He fell backwards onto the ice, and his head hit the ice. He was lying on the ice motionless. When his teammates rushed to his aid, he uttered his last words, "Never again. Never again". He lost consciousness soon after.

Masterton sustained a massive brain hemorrhage. He never regained consciousness, and died in the hospital on Jan 15, 1968. He was the only player who died due to an injury in an NHL game.