Malarchuk's Jugular Cut:
Despite his impressive NHL career statistics, Malarchuk might be
best known for an on-ice accident that could easily have claimed
his life. It happened during Buffalo's March 22, 1989, game vs.
St. Louis. Malarchuk, who was playing goal, was caught in the
neck by the Blues' Steve Tuttle's skate as Tuttle was upended in
front of the Sabres goal by Buffalo defenseman Uwe Krupp. The
skate got caught under Malarchuk's mask and above his protective
collar. It slashed his jugular vein, causing blood to gush out
rapidly from a six-inch cut on the right side of his neck.
Malarchuk flung off his mask and collapsed to the ice in a pool
of his own blood, fearing that he was about to die.
Malarchuk was helped off the ice under his own power, and Sabres
trainers stitched him up quickly in the dressing room before
sending him to the hospital. That night, the grisly scene was
replayed on videotape on many local sports broadcasts across
North America, and the incident gave Malarchuk a dose of
celebrity he might never have expected. In the end, the injury
was far less serious than it had appeared. Tuttle's skate had
only cut Malarchuk's external jugular, sparing his interior
jugular and vocal cords. Malarchuk was released from a St. Louis
hospital on March 23, 1989, and returned to the Buffalo lineup
on April 2, 1989.
Another Brush With Death:
As if Malarchuk's 1989 jugular scare weren't enough, the Buffalo
goalie suffered another close call on Jan. 27, 1992. On that
day, following a Super Bowl party, he mixed pain medication with
the alcohol he had been drinking at the party. Malarchuk had
been given the prescription for pain killers to treat a stomach
illness that he contracted on Jan. 23, 1992. The stomach trouble
had landed him in a St. Louis hospital. Three days later, he had
three or four beers as he watched the Super Bowl in Buffalo. He
then went home and took his medication with another alcoholic
drink, figuring it would make him drowsy and help him sleep
through the night. Instead, he managed to poison himself. He
lost consciousness and was rushed to the Erie County Medical
Center. Malarchuk called the mixing of drugs and alcohol the
"most traumatic experience I've ever had. The biggest mistake of
my life." His need to take the homemade sleep medication that
nearly killed him might have been tied to his history of
alcoholism and his Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder, not yet been
diagnosed at the time of this incident.
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