Drew Miller thankful he didn't lose his eye after skate to face

On Tuesday, one of the more gruesome accidents of the season occurred when Detroit Red Wings forward Drew Miller was kicked in the face by the skate of Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone.

Miller immediately left the game and later needed 60 stitches to close two facial lacerations.

The 31-year-old penalty-killing specialist was scared for his sight when the incident first developed.

“When it happened, my first reaction was, ‘Oh my God, my eye is gone,’” Miller told Bill Roose of NHL.com.

“It hit so hard … there was so much blood that I wasn’t sure if it had clipped my eyeball or what had happened. I wasn’t sure,” Miller added. “I definitely feel very blessed that the skate didn’t hit my eye. I was very lucky. Right now it’s just dealing with the cut, the stitches and the soreness. Other than that my eye’s good and I got on the ice today and felt pretty good.”

Miller, who was able to practice with his team on Wednesday, further described the injury.

“Right away I knew something bad had happened,” he said. “My first reaction was get off the ice and get as close to the doctors as I can, because I didn’t know what exactly had happened. I knew it was around my eye. I wasn’t sure if my eye was gone or what was going on. My first reaction was get to the doctors, the people who can help me.”

Miller has five goals and eight assists in 76 games for the Red Wings, who ended up losing Tuesday's contest 2-1 in a shootout.