ARLINGTON, V.A. — For Nick Jensen, the scene that unfolded at Capital One Arena on April 13 wasn't as scary to him as it was to the crowd watching on.
Granted, he was unconscious for part of it.
Jensen was skating and clearing the puck when suddenly, he was thrown into the boards on a big body check from Tampa Bay Lightning forward Michael Eyssimont. The 33-year-old blueliner went down immediately, not moving.
As he came to, he saw a stretcher being brought out for him.
"Being told to stay on the ice was what I was being told," Jensen recalled. "I didn't ask them to bring a stretcher out; that's a precaution that they do. Obviously, when you see a stretcher come out, it's always concerning. So I think it was a little scarier than it appeared, not that it wasn't a bad scene when anyone goes unconscious. If a stretcher wasn't required and I was able to get up and walk off the ice, that would be a great sign to everyone watching and my family."
Still, it was something that weighed on Jensen.
"It was still scary, maybe not as scary as it seemed, but it was still something that I've never experienced, my family's never experienced," Jensen said. After that day, after what happened, I felt pretty good, all things considered."
Related: Capitals Notebook: Sandin & Jensen Appear Set To Return, Miroshnichenko Draws Out As D.C. Looks To Stave Off Elimination vs. Rangers
Jensen said the symptoms and fallout from the hit weren't too difficult to navigate in his daily life, as he was able to avoid a trip to the hospital and walked out of Capital One Arena with his family that night. A day later, he was at the Capitals facility paying a visit to his teammates, and then, it was a waiting game as he had to stand by and receive clearance to get back on the ice.
"There was never really a time after the injury where I was like, concerned about being done with hockey. I was always making sure I was able to take the time to heal as necessary... Obviously it was a bad situation, I get past i tand heal from it and move on."
Still, it was a frustrating time for Jensen, who had to sit out and watch as his teammates clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and battled for their lives. The first three games of the opening round have been the hardest, as the Capitals are facing elimination going into Game 4.
"It's tough to watch when all the guys you battle with all year long are out there giving it their all, you know, it's not going our way right now and you see guys are kind of falling to injury and stuff like that, you kind of have to watch and sit there," Jensen said. "It's tough to watch that when you're not out there with them, but hopefully, that's something I can change tonight and be a difference-maker."
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Jensen expects to draw back into the lineup in Sunday's must-win Game 4 with Rasmus Sandin in a must-win game, one where he's ready to lay everything on the line once again. And while there were some nerves when it came to getting back in the rhythm of things, he feels prepared to go in, give hits and take hits.
"The reason we take all this time to heal (is to) make sure we're overly ready to go. There's a reason we're doing that: so you don't go in kind of playing afraid to get hit or afraid to approach pucks and get into battles," Jensen explained. "Obviously, in the playoffs, it's gonna be a heightened state. It's going to be physical; intensity's going to be high. You gotta be able to jump right into that type of intensity. That's why we take the extra days, to make sure everything's good."
Puck drop is at 8 p.m. at Capital One Arena.
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