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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah captain Clayton Keller went to the locker room a minute into the second period against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night after a puck struck him the face.
A shot from teammate Michael Kesselring got deflected high and the puck struck Keller. He immediately ripped off his helmet, skated off the ice, and headed straight to the locker room.
Keller eventually returned to the ice with 4:40 left in the second with swelling and a cut above his eye. He assisted on Utah's first goal of the game 40 seconds later and added an empty-netter late in the 5-2 win over the Jets.
"I got lucky," said Keller, who sported a dozen stitches and a bruised eyelid following the game. "It didn't catch my eye. It was so fast, you don't feel much. But I tried to look through my eye and I knew I could, so I wasn't really too worried after that."
His quick return and toughness shifted momentum in Utah's favor and led to a second straight home victory to cap a seven-game homestand.
"Coming back without hesitation, without a doubt in his head -- that was great," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said.
Keller has 10 goals and 20 assists over his last 22 games. He had a goal and three assists in Utah's 4-2 win over St. Louis on Saturday, matching his NHL career high with four points. Keller leads the expansion club in points (50) and assists (34) this season.
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