Paul Stastny maintains sense of humor after latest injury to mouth

BOSTON — Paul Stastny knows he was fortunate to avoid being hit in the eye or having his nose busted late in Saturday’s game at Montreal.

But the veteran Golden Knights center is a little sick of his mouth getting the worst of it.

“It seems like since I was 10 years old, my mouth has always been a magnet for everything,” Stastny said following Monday’s practice. “Lucky I wore mouthguards to protect it and that softens the blow. But it seems like every little stick or every little puck always goes in my mouth.”

Stastny was hit right in the kisser with 1:24 remaining in overtime when Canadiens forward Joel Armia tried to flip the puck out of the zone.

Stastny stayed down in the corner for several seconds with blood pouring out of his mouth, and he picked up two teeth off the ice before heading to the dressing room for treatment.

“Those were my fake teeth anyway. I guess that’s the point of them,” Stastny said. “They’re not going to be permanent till my career is done.”

Stastny had several stitches on his top and bottom lip but was a full participant in practice. He is expected to play Tuesday when the Knights face Boston at TD Garden in the final game before the All-Star break and bye week.

Stastny recorded back-to-back multipoint games against Montreal and Ottawa. He has five goals and 10 points in his past 10 games.

“The swelling part, a day later, feels way better,” Stastny said. “It’s still dry and there’s still cuts on the inside, so you try not to eat spicy food. You try to eat bland food, but every day it just gets easier.”

Fleury suspension

Knights coach Peter DeBoer said the team remains undecided on when goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will serve his one-game suspension for not appearing in the All-Star Game.

Fleury must sit out the game preceding or following the All-Star break, and Tuesday’s game against the Bruins is the final one before the break. The Knights resume play after the bye week Jan. 31 at Carolina on the first game of a back-to-back.

The Knights did not recall a goaltender from the American Hockey League on Monday.

Glass update

Rookie forward Cody Glass participated in an off-ice workout along with William Karlsson, and DeBoer expected Glass to be near a return when the Knights finish their bye week.

Glass has been week to week since he sustained a lower-body injury in the win over St. Louis on Jan. 4.

“He’s on the trip. But he and William (Karlsson) will take the 10 days, and we’ll give you an update coming out of that break,” DeBoer said. “I would anticipate both would start to be getting really close at that point.”

Enemy territory

The Knights practiced Monday at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, which brought back memories for wing Alex Tuch.

As a freshman at rival Boston College, Tuch had two goals and an assist at the arena to help BC knock off the No. 2 Terriers.

“We had a hard time getting in (the arena),” Tuch said. “I think one of the (BU) assistant coaches had to let us in. I was trying not to blow up the place. I said, ‘No promises, I played at BC.’

“But my little brother (Luke) is going to BU, so I had to play nice.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.