SAN JOSE – Just in case there was any question as to the grisly nature of Logan Couture's mouth injury, the Sharks forward shared a picture on his personal Instagram account on Monday.
If you haven't seen it yet, proceed with caution.
The photo was taken the night of his injury on March 25 in Nashville, showing several top teeth missing in a mouth that can accurately be described as a bloody mess, after he was hit with a defected puck while standing in front of the net in a game against the Predators.
Couture revealed on Tuesday in a conference call that there was more to his injury that just damaged teeth. He also has some facial fractures, including one above his upper lip that extends to his nasal area, and another that is under the bottom row of his teeth.
The one that's higher in his face is still painful.
"Still struggle to eat and sleep. … It's not a comfortable state to be in," said Couture, who missed the final seven games of the regular season before returning for the six-game first round series loss to Edmonton.
Sports
As for the next step, Couture has yet to sit down with his dentist, although further work is on the horizon.
"There's going to be some implants to get the teeth fixed," he said. "Hopefully get it done in the next few weeks, and then I'll head back to Canada."
Couture doesn't yet know how many teeth need to be replaced.
"All depends on how the teeth respond," he said.
* * *
Joe Thornton had successful surgery on his left knee on Monday afternoon, NBC Sports California has learned, and according to a team statement released later on Tuesday he is expected to "make a complete recovery and be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season."
According to a source, the damage to Thornton's MCL was more significant than his ACL. The team declined to give any details about the surgery in its statement, including who performed it and where it was done.
Thornton played four playoff games against Edmonton despite damaged knee ligaments, head coach Pete DeBoer revealed on Monday, when he said Thornton was dealing with a "torn MCL and ACL" after getting hurt in Vancouver on April 2.