Report: Predators' Matt Duchene lost part of his finger blocking a shot

Warning: Story contains graphic content

More details have emerged abut the injury suffered by Nashville Predators forward Matt Duchene.

Duchene hasn't played since getting struck in the hand by a slap shot from teammate Dante Fabbro during Nashville's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 26. The Predators forward was in visible pain after getting hit with the puck and immediately rushed off the ice holding out his gloveless hand.

As Duchene made his way onto the bench, you can see teammate Kiefer Sherwood glance at Duchene's hand and quickly recoil after seeing the extent of the injury.

Well, we now know why.

According to TNT analyst Darren Pang, part of Duchene’s fingertip was severed by the shot. The injury was to Duchene's left ring finger, per photos captured by Getty's Danny Murphy.

Following the game, Predators coach John Hynes said the 32-year-old would be out week-to-week with a hand injury, but there have been no further updates since on the status of the forward's finger.

The Predators have been decimated by injuries down the stretch, with Duchene joining Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Mark Borowiecki, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Lauzon and Juuso Parssinen on Nashville's injured list.

That stack of injuries has likely put an end to Nashville's playoff hopes, as it currently sits five points back of the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild-card spot with seven games remaining in the regular season. The Predators last missed the playoffs during the COVID-shortened 2020 season after losing in the qualifying round, but prior to that hadn't missed the postseason since 2014. They currently have a 3.4 percent chance of qualifying for the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck.

Duchene leads the Predators with 22 goals this season and is second to Josi with 56 points in 71 games, a big step back from the 43 goals and 86 points he produced in 78 games last season.

This isn't the first time a player has suffered a partly-severed finger during a game. In 2017, Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot famously lost part of his pinky finger after getting slashed in the hand by Sidney Crosby. Methot, who required 10 stitches to reattach the appendage, was able to return to the lineup 23 days after suffering the injury, suiting up in Game 1 of Ottawa's first-round series against the Boston Bruins.