NHL's Morgan Barron Gets 75+ Stitches After Taking Skate To Face, Returns To Game

Here's more proof hockey guys are the toughest people out there -- NHL center Morgan Barron took a skate to the face that resulted in 75+ stitches on Tuesday ... but somehow, he managed to return and finish the game!!

It all went down at the T-Mobile Arena ... when Barron suffered the injury in the first period in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series between the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights.

A scrum for the loose puck ensued by the net ... and as players from both teams converged, Vegas goalie Laurent Brossoit's skate inadvertently cut Morgan's face, causing him to bleed.

The 24-year-old -- who got hurt with 10:43 left in the first period -- emerged from the tunnel and returned to the game with 13:24 left in the second.

After the game, Barron told reporters the injury wasn't as bad as it looked, adding the medical staff did an excellent job of fixing him up.

"I was trying to figure out if the puck went in because it was pretty close," Barron said. "I saw the skate coming. It was an unlucky play. The first thought was that I could see out of the [right] eye was the main thing."

Given the magnitude of the matchup, Barron said there was no doubt he would return ... and felt that as long as he was stitched up well enough, he could help his team's chances.