Thirty-eight days after Alex Newhook’s face ballooned, the traces of Cale Makar’s projectile slingshot were finally fading. Newhook’s left eye remained slightly bloodshot, but the swelling was down.
So was his scoring. He had scored twice in the game when a puck clobbered him in the face — once before the incident, once after. Then as he recovered, his point production dipped: one goal and three assists in the next 16 games.
Maybe all he needed was another black eye.
“I don’t want to say I need to get hit in the face more. Because it’s not fun,” Newhook said after the Avs’ 7-0 win Saturday.