The Rangers didn’t do much damage during their lopsided loss in Buffalo Saturday, as they opened their final stretch of the season with an embarrassing defeat.
About the only pain they managed to inflict was to Buffalo broadcaster — and ex-Sabres enforcer — Rob Ray, who got hit in the head with an errant puck from Rangers defenseman Will Borgen.
The incident occurred late in the first period after the Sabres took a quick 4-0 lead and the Rangers won the ensuing faceoff.
Borgen attempted to send the puck to the other end of the ice, but it deflected off the ice and drilled Ray, who was stationed between the benches.
Warning: Graphic language
Ray immediately yelled “Ah, f–k,” but didn’t let it stop him from describing the action on the ice, as he was quickly checked out by Sabres doctors from where he was broadcasting.
He ended up with a cut above his eye and continued to broadcast before eventually getting stitches later in the game.
While speaking to broadcast partner Dan Dunleavy, Ray pointed to the evidence left by the puck above his eyebrow, “Right where the golf ball is right here. That’s not normal.”
The 56-year-old Ray, who was inducted into the Sabres’ Hall of Fame last month, spent most of his 15-year NHL career in Buffalo and is still the all-time leader in penalty minutes for the franchise, so the toughness displayed Saturday was not unexpected.
It’s also not the first time Ray has played — or broadcast — through an injury.
Just over a year ago, Ray took another errant puck to the head during a Sabres game against the Arizona Coyotes — now the Utah Hockey Team.
