Beck Malenstyn's exposed hand leaves Sabres with bloody injury scare after Ivan Demidov hit

The hit on Demidov was loud, but the aftermath around Malenstyn became the sharper story.

Jordan Greenway stepped into Demidov in Game 2, catching the Canadiens rookie through the middle and sending him backward.

The camera then shifted to Malenstyn.

The Sabres forward had lost his glove in the traffic, and Demidov's skate appeared to come down near his exposed hand as bodies tangled.

Demidov is knocked off balance, spins out of the lane, and drifts while both teams react to the contact.

Malenstyn's reaction changed the entire feel of the sequence.

He looks down, pulls away fast, and heads off with a bloodied hand while Buffalo's bench tracks the damage.

That is the part Ruff cannot ignore.

The Sabres wanted weight on Demidov, but the play ended with one of their own bottom-six forwards needing immediate attention.

Montreal still had the cleaner result on the scoreboard, winning 5-1, and Demidov returned after the scare.

For Martin St-Louis, that matters because Demidov stayed available and did not let the hit remove him from the Canadiens' attack.

For Ruff, the concern shifts.

Buffalo got the contact it wanted, yet the visual that traveled was Malenstyn leaving bloodied after the pileup.

That is playoff hockey at its most unforgiving: one heavy step into the lane, one loose glove, one exposed hand, and suddenly the hit becomes a Sabres injury story.