Brandon Dubinsky’s helmet saves him from nasty skate slash (VIDEO)

The New York Rangers weren't all that lucky as a team Friday night, losing to the Buffalo Sabres on home ice, 4-1.

But forward Brandon Dubinsky? Lucky. Very, very lucky.

After a scoring chance on Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller, the Rangers' Ryan Callahan was wrestled to the ice by statuesque defenseman Tyler Myers. But as Myers fell on top of Callahan, his skate flew into the air, headed straight for the side of Dubinsky's head.

This could have been a devastating injury had Myers' skate connected with his head and face. While other skate-slash incidents that have nearly resulted in death -- Clint Malarchuk in 1989, Richard Zednik in 1998 -- involved the throat, former NHL linesman Pat Dapuzzo took a skate to the head in 2008 that sliced his nose, concussed him and had a doctor tell him "If you go back on the ice, you are going to die."

s/t Kukla's.