A shot to the face wasn't stopping Matt Niskanen from finishing his shift or the game



We already know that hockey players are a tough breed of humans, but Matt Niskanen is one level above hockey player when it comes to the pain tolerance scale.

On Friday the Philadelphia Flyers crushed the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1. Nearing the midway point of the opening period, Niskanen ended up taking a point shot right to the face. Not only did he stay up on his feet, but he finished his shift.

Clearly leaking from his face, the 32-year-old went to the room and received 15 stitches around his nose. For some people, this would mean the end of the night. For Niskanen, it meant he had to wear a full cage for the rest of the game.



The 2018 Stanley Cup champion barely missed any time because of his injury as he was back on the bench within the first minute of the second period and logged just over 17 minutes of ice time.



Matt Niskanen received 15 stitches around the nose. He said, "It's not as bad as it looks." #Flyers — Jamey Baskow (@JameyBaskow) November 30, 2019

Following the game, Niskanen was rocking a different look at his locker as he met with reporters.



Ilya Bryzgalov was onto something when he said defencemen are crazier than goalies because they try to stop the same shots the goalie’s trying to stop but with less equipment on.​