Yeah that incident with Chara happened around the same time as mine; I had a playoff game a few nights later and played. I really love hockey so it takes a lot to keep me off the ice, which I guess probably seems pretty 'insane' to non-hockey folks.

One other thing... the night it happened, the game was at 10:30 and there really isn't anything the emergency room visit can do other than provide pain meds etc. So I just drove myself home and my wife kept bugging me to go to the hospital, but I kept telling her there really was no point. The worst part of that night was trying to sleep; I actually slept clinching a rag in my mouth to keep the tooth in position and to absorb blood from the rest of the damage. The pain of the open nerves was pretty hard to deal with too.

Didn't sleep much, easily the worst night of my life that I can think of. Fortunately I have an excellent dentist here in Denver (Icon Dental) and I was able to book an emergency visit for 8AM the next morning that night so I knew I just had to make it to morning.

As someone who's broke their jaw twice from pucks to the face, yours and Chara's had to be a hairline fracture. There's absolutely no way I could have played with a broken jaw. It was over 2 months of having my mouth wired shut ( liquid diet - lost 55 pounds) plus plate in my chin. It's still painful when I get a puck/stick to the cage over 15 years later.

But I’m going to guess you didn’t have a doctor with a briefcase full of Toradol injections in the dressing room, ready to shoot you up and clear you to go back out.

Chars had his jaw wired shut during the games after he broke it.

couldn't have been the same way as mine then, since you can't breath deeply at all with your mouth wired shut (i almost fainted while running after someone).

The dude came back out and sat on the bench for the third period. You could tell he wanted to get back on the ice, too.

Most people think it’s just a game, and are surprised or confused by this.

This isn’t a game to them, it’s their job, and one they fought hard their entire lives for. The system selects for elite talent from all over the globe that is wired to persevere at all costs. For the extremely few who make it to the finals of the top league in their sport, especially late in their career, they know they may never get another opportunity to capstone their life’s work. It’s beyond comprehension for them to just roll over at the finish line and let someone else take what is theirs.

Pro-level athletes are training hard, and spend an awful lot of time being miserable, both due to constant training, and lots of time away from home.

After all that misery now you've got a real shot at a Cup? You bet your ass they're going to stay in the game until they can't.

And then there is the financial incentives for winning the championship...