NHL Boucher's eye injury was bad, and it could have been worse

He was struck in the eye by a puck traveling between 80 and 100 mph.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS -- Philippe Boucher said the thought rushed to his brain almost immediately.
"To be honest," he said. "when I hit the ice, my first thought was, 'Why aren't I wearing a visor?' "
Boucher, a Dallas Stars defenseman, was struck in the eye Nov. 28 by a puck traveling between 80 and 100 mph, and it shattered his left orbital bone. In addition to the howling pain that he said was the worst in his life, Boucher almost suffered a detached retina, and he could have suffered much worse.
"It basically exploded the left side of my face and shattered the bones," he said, drawing an image of car glass that somehow holds together despite being in a thousand pieces. "And the doctor said that there was a chance that had it been an inch over or a couple of miles an hour faster that it could have exploded the eyeball. I mean, I'm really lucky that I didn't lose the eye entirely."
The second time
And here's the kicker: This is the second time Boucher has been through it.
While playing for the Los Angeles Kings in 2001, Boucher was hit in the right eye by a puck. There was no structural damage to the bone, but he suffered a detached retina that required surgery and took three months to recover.
Yet when he stepped back on the ice, he said he couldn't wear a protective visor. It steamed up, it clouded his vision, it just didn't feel right.
"Plus, I figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," he said. "It was like, you're never going to get hit in the eye twice."
Never came pretty quickly for Boucher. Now, he has decided he'll never play in an NHL game again without a visor.
"After this, I'd be pretty stupid to go out there without one," he said.
The last few days have taught him much. One, he thanks his luck every day the injury wasn't worse.
"You get time to sit and think about it, and you really start to think, 'What would happen if I could never play again?' " Boucher said. "I love the game, I love the guys, I love everything about it, and I don't want to lose that."
Understanding family
Two, he thanks his luck every day he has an understanding wife and two kids who are counting on him. He said his wife, Lucie, helped soothe son Matthew the night of the injury and was strong throughout the hospital trip. But he added that Matthew was near tears a couple days later.
"He said he saw the replay on television," Boucher said. "He wasn't crying, but you could tell he was scared."
Three, he never wants to go through that kind of pain again.
"When we were going to the hospital, I was just thinking, 'Get me to a bed, give me some drugs and make this stop,' " Boucher said.
And so, he will wear a visor and tell anyone who asks that they should do the same.