Stars Defenseman Chris Tanev Had A Tooth Pulled In The Middle Of A Playoff Game And Barely Missed Any Time

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NHL players are known for possessing a superhuman level of pain tolerance, and they have a reputation for raising that already impressive threshold during the Stanely Cup Playoffs—one that Stars veteran Chris Tanev helped cement thanks to what transpired on Wednesday.

One of my favorite parts of the NHL season is the exit interviews we’re treated to after a team sees their run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs come to an end.

Hockey teams are usually known for keeping a pretty tight lid on injuries, but there are so many cases where what was initially described as a “lower-body issue” turned out to be a broken foot, torn muscle, or some other ailment that would put the average person out of commission for weeks but didn’t stop the player who was nursing it from suiting up.

Most people would use having a tooth pulled as an excuse to call out of work and spend the day chilling on the couch housing ice cream, but that was not the root Dallas Stars defenseman Chris Tanev went after being forced to undergo an emergency dental procedure during Game 5 of his team’s second-round showdown with the Avalanche on Wednesday night.

Tanev saw things go south during his first shift of the game when he collided with Colorado superstar Nathan MacKinnon in front of the net before quickly heading to the locker room after making his way back to the bench.

After the game, Stars head coach Peter DeBoer spoke with the media and revealed Tanev had to get one of his teeth pulled after it got pushed into his gums during the run-in with MacKinnon, cheekily noting “He didn’t have many to begin with” while discussing the procedure.

Tanev missed a few shifts but was able to return midway through the first period and ultimately recorded close to 20 minutes of ice time in a game where the Avalanche kept their season alive with the 5-3 win on the road against a Dallas team that now holds a 3-2 lead in the series.