The sure mi s veteran forward Pascal Dupuis, and have for the better part of the last two seasons.After suffering a severe knee injury last year, Dupuis developed blood clots that ended up in one of his lungs. He recovered and returned to action in 2014-15, only to have the blood clots come back, ending his season after just 16 games.It has been a difficult time for the 35-year-old veteran winger who had 11 points before going down with the clots. However, considering the severity of his condition, he is quite po sibly lucky to be alive.In a piece written for ThePlayersTribune.com, Dupuis admitted to playing through the blood clots without ever telling anyone on the team that he was experiencing the symptoms again. He made it through five games before finally taking himself to the hospital. :I would not recommend this to anyone but the truth is that I played five more NHL games without one-third of a lung. My knee was genuinely sore, so I asked for some anti-inflammatories, which helped with the pain a little bit. My training was so overboard that the blood clot didnt affect my conditioning. I played my best game of the year in Toronto, a few days after I felt the clot. We won 2-1, and I scored both goals. It was my first game back on the line with and . Thats the line I love playing on. Im like, Im back, baby!I was lying to myself. We were on the road. I was away from my family, around the guys doing what I love. It was easy to be in denial. Then the road trip ended and we returned to Pittsburgh. When I walked in the door and saw my wife and kids again, that was it.I went to our teams head trainer, . Hey Stewie, I think I maybe felt something, I said. I might want to go get checked.Of course, Dupuis was found to Seaonta Stewart Jr. Jersey have a blood clot again after testing. Had he gone much longer playing through it, there was a chance the clot could have traveled to his heart and killed him.In his piece, Dupuis explained the mentality of a hockey player and that he had convinced himself he wasn't human and to not admit he was feeling pain. That's obviously a dangerous mentality in this situation. It could have cost Dupuis his life, but it is hardly shocking that he concealed his injury and briefly lived in denial about what he was experiencing. Hockey players are warriors in their own minds and often have that fed by this outside perception that they'll play through anything.Players are regularly playing hurt, sometimes even through injuries that they have no busine s playing through, like concu sions or ligament injuries that put them at risk for greater harm. Dupuis' candid article should serve as a warning sign that players have to be honest about what they're going through and seek proper care. It shouldn't be asking a lot of them, but it is. Players want to play for plenty of reasons, not the least of which is that they very much buy into that warrior mentality that they're invincible.Despite all he has been through, Dupuis still has a strong desire to continue playing. As he explained:Im 35. I know I dont have much time left. But Im getting out of that pre s box prison. I dont care if it takes six months or a year or two years. I will get healthy. I will play in the National Hockey League again.Hopefully Dupuis is able to make a full recovery to continue his career, but obviously only if hes fully healthy. After this season, he has two years remaining on his contract with the Penguins.In 853 career games, Dupuis has 405 points. In addition to Pittsburgh, he has played for the Minnesota Wild, Atlanta Thrashers and briefly for the New York Rangers. He was signed by Minnesota as an undrafted free agent out of the QMJHL in 2000. Triston Abram Jersey