Back Where We Belong

[Bellaaaa]

It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to sleep.Authentic Nick Martin Jersey,

It hurt to do just about anything.Authentic Benardrick McKinney Jersey,

Leading up to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals against Chicago in 2013, and if I felt my ribs move at all while I was walking, I was walking around everywhere like an old man. I had to be really careful whenever I tried to get around so I wouldn’t shift my torso too much. I had a cracked rib and torn cartilage, the pain would just about knock the wind out of me.

If I’m being honest,,womens Braxton Miller Jersey the thought of sitting out never really crossed my mind. We were about to play in a must-win game. We had everything to lose.

I thought back to 2009,Authentic Quinten Rollins Jersey, still figuring everything out, and he was put on my line. This was a guy who had been playing in the NHL for 20 years. When all was said and done,womens Ty Montgomery Jersey, when Mark Recchi joined our team during the trade deadline. I was 23,he’d lace up his skates for more than 1,600 games while winning three Stanley Cups. He had a career that I wanted to emulate — that any young player would want to emulate. And it just so happened that he was a really great guy who was selfless with his knowledge.

That first season he was with us,womens Tyler Ervin Jersey, Mark was sick. Like really sick. He had kidney stones, we played the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs. Before one of the games during the series, and he couldn’t stop throwing up. Right up until we took the ice, I watched him struggle just to sit upright.

But when the puck dropped,,womens Brett Hundley Jersey,' he went out there and played his game.

I was on the ice with him as his centerman and I could hardly believe what I was watching. This guy who had been in agony just moments before was out there beating people to pucks and finishing checks. He was leaving it all out there, even when it seemed like he had nothing more to give.

That showed me something. It showed me what playoff hockey was really about — the sacrifices that need to be made.

Fast-forward to Game 6 in 2013, I knew that I wasn’t right. I was in a lot of pain …. but it didn’t matter.Authentic Brett Hundley Jersey, I was playing. No question. I wasn’t sitting this one out.

It wasn’t about appearing tough or anything like that. I didn’t think about that at all. I was just following the lead of Recchs and so many of the guys before him who I’d looked up to. I knew this wasn’t something I could miss.

Not after three playoff series'Authentic Tyler Ervin Jersey. Not when we were that close to the Cup.

But when the game started,womens Quinten Rollins Jersey, I tried to ignore it. We were two months into the playoffs — of course,Authentic Ty Montgomery Jersey,'> I was feeling tired. Shift by shiftAuthentic Braxton Miller Jersey, I began to feel worse and worse. Still, I made it through the game,womens Nick Martin Jersey,,',which we ended up losing in a heartbreaker — not that anybody reading this needs to be reminded.

I shook hands with the guys on the other team and then sort of stumbled back to the locker room. The trainers evaluated me,womens Kevin Johnson Jersey,When it was all over, and then I ended up at the hospital where they determined I had suffered a punctured lung.

But …. I’d do it all again.womens Benardrick McKinney Jersey,

the cartilage,Authentic Kevin Johnson Jersey, The cracked ribs, even the punctured lung. I’d do it all again in a second.