Adam McQuaid in agony after taking a shot off the knee.

You know it's not going to be good when it's a guy this tough down on the ice.

On Saturday afternoon the New York Rangers faced off against their interstate rivals the New York Islanders in what proved to be yet another exciting battle of New York. In spite of the fact that the Rangers find themselves well out of serious contention this season the game still had the playoff atmosphere that is so common when these 2 organizations battle it out on the ice. Players on both sides of the ice were playing hard and players on both sides of the ice were sacrificing their bodies in an effort to pick up the big win.

First it was veteran defeseman Johnny Boychuk who put his body on the line when he dove in, face first, right in front of a shot from veteran Rangers forward Chris Kreider. Unfortunately for Boychuk the shot would strike him right in the face, but to his credit although he did seem to be favoring his face, and who wouldn't, he also seemed to shake it off pretty quickly and I have little doubt that his teammates will heap praise on him for his sacrifice. 

Unfortunately for the Rangers however it does not look like they were so lucky when it comes to players sacrificing their bodies to make a big time play. During the very same game, in the following period, another former member of the Boston Bruins showed his toughness and his determination to win just as badly as Boychuk did earlier. This time around it was veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid who laid out his body right in front of a hard shot from the point.

It was obvious immediately that something was not right with McQuaid right after he blocked the shot. The notoriously tough customer went down on the ice in a heap and it looked so bad that the NHL officials on the ice immediately blew the play dead, recognizing that McQuaid had been seriously shaken up on the play. When you consider how tough of a player that McQuaid is I believe it's safe to say he wasn't faking, and when you see the replay of the shot hitting him where there is no padding, you will understand why he was in such pain.

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