Seems like Johnson's family has confirmed that he didn't make it.
I hope we see more players wearing neck guards. This should be preventable
Most of the guys also let their ears hang out of their helmets even after Carlson's injury last season. The peer pressure not to look wimpy is intense.
John Carlson has not played in a game or skated with the Capitals since absorbing a Brenden Dillon slap shot to the…
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Here he confirms his ear stayed on, but he wears extra protection
The 90 mph slapshot had hit Carlson straight in the side of his helmet. That impact pushed the helmet into Carlson's head, which severed his temporal artery and fractured his skull.
Strome and Ovechkin grabbed Carlson and rushed him to the bench, where Erik Gustafsson was ready with a towel. Carlson pressed it to his face and made his way down the tunnel under his own power.
He couldn't imagine what was coming next as the medical team got to work.
"You don't know what's happening at the time," Carlson told The Hockey News in an exclusive 1-on-1 before the season came to an end. "Honestly, for me, I was just thinking that it was a pretty big cut and getting stitched up. It's not like they were telling me, 'Oh man, this is a bad artery here.'"
That was exactly the case, though. Jason Serbus and the team's medical staff had to rush to stop the bleeding before Carlson was stretchered out of the arena and taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Now that he's back playing, Carlson has taken extra precautions. Though the puck did not impact his ear, which he confirmed while gesturing to the scar on the side of his head, he now wears an ear guard on the right side of his head in games as an extra layer of protection.
"It's not going to hurt, so that's why it's in there," he pointed out.
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