upstairs and across from the “whachu talkin bout, Willis”?
I’d expect it to shoot at least 10 feet horizontally if it were arterial.
It’s possible it was arterial, but I’m still betting jugular.
The discussion page brings up the subject, and gives some circumstantial “proof” that it was the carotid. I’'d change the article to jugular to match the reference, but I really don’t care enough to get in an edit war.
Being a hockey goaltender it would be impossible to determine if he ever was mentally whole. 
Oddest group of athletes on the planet.
As to his physical performance, Malarchuk never was a great goalie pretty average numbers and pretty close to a 50/50 win/loss ratio. It might be worth noting that his Save Percentage actually increased after returning from the injury. However that might just further the argument that you have to be brain damaged to play goalie in the first place. 
That makes me wonder from an evolutionary stand point why this area is not protected more. That something that can kill you in minutes if cut is not protected more seems weird.
Because we’re not perfect; we’re just “good enough” for most of us to survive long enough to reproduce. The fact that we exist is proof that the existing protection scheme has been adequate for survival of the species.
FWIW the area is not defenseless. The carotids are covered by skin and several muscles, and there is an active defense system (arms with which to fend off an attack, and legs with which to flee the scene).
Not to mention that if you have any time to prepare for an attack, you can pull your chin down and hunch your shoulders up, nicely protecting much of that area.
Thanks for the input on the “proof” that it was really the internal carotid; it looks like someone’s citing “video evidence” without any link/reference. I think I’ll trust the quotes from the former combat medic who attended him, plus the man himself who says the doctors working on him told him it was the jugular. I Googled and found transcribed and scanned articles from that date and everything says “jugular.”
QtM, it’s posts like these that make you a memorable Doper.
That was one hell of a video.
This videoshows the trail of blood on the ice from the Zednik injury. It is at least 90 feet from the goal line to the red line at center ice (might be closer to 95 feet at First Niagara Center). Wikipedia describes it as a partly severed external carotid artery.
Wouldn’t the pressure from the adjacent carotid cause pulsation?
Covered_In_Bees!, a partly severed vein or artery is actually more dangerous. A fully severed artery will snap back into the muscle tissue and, at least, slow bleeding, while if only partly severed, it will be held open. That said, a fully severed carotid is unsurvivable. For that matter, a fully severed jugular is likely unsurvivable as well.
Now THAT is an arterial blood splatter pattern!
Did I ever tell you about the patient whose dialysis fistula (a high pressure shunt, artery connect to vein) ruptured in my office? Blood on 4 walls, floor and ceiling! Place looked like an abattoir.
Did he live?
The proper way to ask this question on teh intarnets is, “did he died?”
And if not, did he bring pie?
Yes. Both individuals discussed in this thread survived and returned to professional hockey in a matter of weeks. Modern medicine is amazing. However both only played professionally for a few more seasons. Malarchuk went on to coaching, and Zednik is, or was, playing in the European professional leagues.
I was referring to QtMs parient - sorry for the confusion.
Malarchuk ended up accidently shooting himself in the chin with a .22 rifle a few years after the hocky accident. He survived that too.