BUFFALO—If nothing else, Leafs centre Darryl Boyce may pick up employee-of-the-month honours.

The picture of himself he tweeted Friday suggested — rather graphically — that Boyce would be better off on a couch with an ice pack than taking his regular shift with the Leafs in a tough divisional game in Buffalo Saturday night.

Yet, there was Boyce, stitched up but still swollen, grinding on as the Leafs took on the Sabres.

“I’m okay to play,” Boyce said prior to the game.

“I’ve been cleared by doctors . . . it’s just a fat lip and a black eye.”

Plus 14 exterior stitches, and another 10 on the interior, to close a nasty cut on the right side of his nose.

That medical clearance seemed impossible Friday, a day after Boyce crashed face-first into the end glass at the Air Canada Centre during a win over Carolina.

Boyce, on a forecheck, couldn’t pull up in time and struck the glass at full speed. His face went into the hole in the glass where photographers normally place their camera lenses for ice-level photos.

Boyce left the game, and was in hospital the same night for repairs.

Afterwards, he tweeted “my face hurts” and added, with a touch of humour, “I don’t know why.”

The tweet linked to a picture showing Boyce’s face grossly bruised and swollen. The picture was widely distributed online, and used by some as further evidence that hockey players are the toughest players in pro sports.

“Well, I don’t know about the toughest, but I actually feel good,” Boyce said.

“I’m not talking as clearly as I should be, but my vision’s good, my breathing’s good. Everything’s good, so I’m ready to play.”

Boyce said he’s somewhat accustomed to playing with damage to his nose.

“I played my career until a couple of years ago with a breathing problem . . . I couldn’t breathe properly because of a blocked nasal passage,” Boyce said, referring to a previous nose injury he suffered several years ago.

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With Boyce’s new injury, Leafs defenceman Mike Komisarek was asked if there were any new nicknames floating around the dressing room for Boyce.

“Ah, not yet,” he said, after a pause. “But give me a bit, I’ll come up with something.”