It may be one of the strangest rituals in hockey: in the solemn interviews that cap an abruptly-ended season, fans watch the grand reveal of what exactly all those “upper-body” and “lower-body” injuries really were.
The later the postseason exit, the more shocking the injuries. After the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2017, the team revealed that Nick Bonino had tried to play through a broken shinbone, while Ian Cole dealt with a broken hand and broken ribs through two rounds.
But these past few years, a series of early departures have led to some anti-climatic exit interviews.