Islanders’ coach Capuano takes a puck for the team

Is there anything else that defines toughness in hockey then when a player gets cut on the face, goes for stitches and returns to the game?

Yes, there is – when it’s a coach who has to get patched up.

That was exactly the case Thursday, when New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano took a puck to the face while on the bench, requiring him to get stitches.

“It’s unbelievable,” Capuano told NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale. “First kidney stone surgery, and then I get hit in the face with the puck. It’s just the way it goes.”

The Islanders eventually won the game 5-4 in overtime.

No lead was safe.

The Islanders jumped out to a 2-0 lead, only to have the Devils come back and tie it up. The Islanders grabbed two more one-goal leads and promptly gave them away.

Brad Boyes scored the winner at 2:01 of overtime, whacking home a loose puck during a goal crease scramble with the Devils short-handed. John Tavares had two goals and an assist, and is up to 11 points on the season.

“Good teams find a way,” Tavares told the New York Daily News. “Good teams that are successful respond. I feel like we are starting to understand what it takes more and more to be a successful team.