David Savard, you have our, and every hockey fan in the world’s, respect.
He’s been unofficially crowned the toughest player in the league after a heroic act of defensive play in Monday’s matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, as he sacrificed his body and played through pain to help the Montreal Canadiens kill a penalty. And he even lost some of his gear on the way.
The Montreal Canadiens, who’ve started the season great, were in a 2-1 lead against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, as the Buffalo got a man advantage and a great opportunity to tie the game with just 10 minutes to go.
Not long into the Sabres’ powerplay, Tage Thompson got a great chance for a one-timer, but David Savard made a heroic block with his hand to keep the puck away from the goal.
As he blocked the shot, his stick went flying. Thompson’s release was quick, and you can just imagine how much it had to hurt for Savard to block the shot, but he wasn’t done just yet. Savard got up on his feet, without a stick, and proceeded to block another shot, this time with his foot.
The shot had the blade of his skate ricochet away, and Savard wasn’t able to skate anymore. Crawling around on the ice, he continued at his best ability to kill the penalty until Jake Allen made a great save to kill the play.
Savard was helped off the ice, and when he approached the bench, players surrounded him with pats on the back and praises for a heroic penalty kill-play. On social media, fans expressed some huge admiration for Savard.
”That was one of the most entertaining highlights I’ve seen in ages, incredible,” one said.
”That was a hell of a shift for Savard. Respect,” another added.
”Daaaamn. And that’s how it’s done,” a third said.
David Savard didn’t return to the game after his shot-blocking, and early reports said that the first shot did it, as he’s believed to have injured his forearm or wrist.
