All smiles: Shaw thankful high stick didn't take any teeth

MILWAUKEE -- Mason Shaw has never been so happy to have worn braces.
If not for the bar left behind from braces he wore as a teenager, it's likely the Iowa Wild forward would be sipping milkshakes for a couple weeks.
"For two years, it was torture," Shaw said. "But that was a good spot to keep my teeth in."

Instead, Shaw dealt with a little blood and a couple of loose teeth but came away unharmed from a dangerous -- but accidental -- high stick in Game 2 of Iowa's Calder Cup Playoff series against the Milwaukee Admirals.
Iowa leads the best-of-5 series 2-0 and can close out the Admirals as soon as tonight in Game 3 at UW-Panther Arena.

"No damage really done to my teeth at all," Shaw said. "The inside of my lip is a little cut up but for the most part, I'm pretty lucky. I've still got my teeth, so I'm fortunate."
Shaw, a fourth-round pick of Minnesota in the 2017 NHL Draft, was in on the forecheck in a corner digging out a loose puck when Milwaukee's Cole Schneider joined the battle. As the puck exited the corner, Schneider went to pursue it behind the goal but his stick got high near Shaw's mouth.
As fate would have it, the team had both a still camera and a video crew in that corner. As good as the slow-motion video is, the still frame makes it appear as though Shaw is taking a bite out of Schneider's stick.
If only it were true.
"Wrong place at the wrong time," Shaw said. "His stick kind of rode up and caught me right in the face and ended up going right in my mouth."

Shaw's unfortunate moment spread quickly among fans when Wild.com's Ryan Carter made mention of the incident on Twitter.
"He wasn't wrong about the taste and texture," Shaw said. "I just threw one back at him and had some fun with it."
Tweet from @MasonShaw18: Sometimes you get hungry during the game. Tasted about as good as it felt #chiclets
An icing followed moments later, which allowed Shaw to get off the ice and repaired on the bench. As he skated back, Shaw said he ran his tongue along his bottom row of teeth, making sure there were no extra gaps.
Other than a little blood, all his chompers were there and accounted for.
"We all know as hockey players, our teeth are always at risk," Shaw said. "I've done a good job so far of keeping all mine."
More from Iowa's Calder Cup Playoff run:
- Kunin morphing into Iowa's Badger State bully - Lengthy losing streak tested Iowas mettle, turned its season around - Rau doesn't back down, gets last laugh on memorable goal in Game 1 - 'Captain Cal' leads the way as Iowa scores first-ever playoff win