The Sabres went on to win a thrilling 6-3 game, but Jokiharju suffered a facial fracture and a concussion. He didn’t play again for another month, and when he did return he had a tinted visor to deal with the light sensitivity.
“It f—ed up your head a little bit, too,” Jokiharju said. “It wasn’t fun at all for sure. You have to battle through it but also know when you’re right and ready to come in so you don’t rush it. That’s the key.”
Jokiharju’s season didn’t get much easier from there. A few weeks after he returned from the concussion and facial fracture, Jokihjarju blocked a shot against the
Penguins and landed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He missed another month. By mid-January, he’d played in only 16 games.
“He was playing so well for that first week and I felt terrible about hitting him even though it tipped off a stick,” Okposo said. “You have an injury like that and it takes a long time to come back and when you get back you’re unsure of yourself. You’re thinking about getting hit in the face again and you’re just uncomfortable. He missed that point in the season where you settle into the year after the first two weeks, everyone calms down and finds their game. That’s what he missed. I don’t think he ever really got settled in.”
