Sustr went after the Devils' Miles Wood after Wood boarded Vladislav Namestnikov dangerously from behind 4:54 into the second period, a hit that resulted in a two-minute minor penalty and a two-game suspension by the NHL's Department of Player Safety the next day for Wood.
During the fight, Wood's first punch broke Sustr's visor, and the jagged edge dug into the left side of Sustr's face, resulting in two separate cuts, one on the inside bridge of his nose and the other starting dangerously near the corner of his left eye and following a path over his cheekbone and down to near his lip.
On Monday, following Tampa Bay's practice session at the Ice Sports Forum, Sustr said he needed 23 stitches to close both wounds.
"There were some (stitches) on the inside because I was cut all the way to my cheekbone," he said. "They had to stitch up my muscles and, obviously, the outside too."
Sustr missed the rest of the second period while getting patched up but returned for the third period and played 10:26 total, taking one shot.
"Once the buzzer went for the second period, I was already in the locker room ready for the third," Sustr said.
Read More: Sustr returns to game after suffering cut to the face
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said Sustr earned "a ton of respect in the locker room" and from his head coach for coming to Namestnikov's aid.
"It's tough for him just because he's doing what we preach and that's sticking up for each other," Cooper said. "I think that's a big part of the reason our team has had success this year. Broken visor, there's nothing you can do about that. You've got to feel for the kid, he's got to come away scraped up the way he was."
Sustr said he didn't feel the injury initially because it was a clean cut, adrenaline probably helping in that regard as well.
"There was a lot of blood out there," he said. "I didn't know where that was coming from. I was just really fortunate it didn't catch my eye because it came pretty close.
Sustr's misfortunate was reminiscent of the same type of injury Victor Hedman suffered over the summer while playing for Team Sweden at the World Championships. Hedman's visor broke during a mid-ice collision and cut him under his left eye, requiring four stitches to close.
"It's pretty scary obviously," Sustr said about his incident. "The shield should be there to protect you, and it does most of the time. But, obviously, it was such a force that when it broke it just went right through my cheek."
Because the cut occurred on the first punch thrown, Sustr didn't get to retaliate against Wood and spent the rest of the fight shielding his face while blood poured out of the open wound.
"I wish it was more of a fight," Sustr said. "He's a tough guy. That would be interesting to see. Who knows?"
Sustr, who still sports a missing front tooth from an incident that happened two seasons ago, now has a gnarly scar to add to his collection of hockey calamities.
"I think it will heal up pretty well," he said.
