PITTSBURGH — Longtime NHL referee Steve Kozari left the ice on a stretcher Saturday after colliding with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury through the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 5-4 victory.
The collision happened at heart ice with 13:49 seconds remaining within the sport at PPG Paints Area. Fleury stood again up and skated off the ice and over to the Lightning locker room, whereas Kozari lay immobile whereas the coaching staffs of each groups tended to him. Fleury didn’t return.
A member of the NHL Officers Affiliation since 2003, Kozari, 50, “was transported to UPMC Mercy Hospital for precautionary causes,” in response to a press release launched by the NHL after the sport. He was “aware and alert,” the assertion added, together with that he had “use of all of his extremities” and was “anticipated to make a full restoration.”
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“I caught it out of the nook of my eye. Tampa’s defenseman was coming off the bench — I feel each of them had been wanting on the puck, as was I — so I caught it out of the nook of my eye,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan stated. “However on the final second, they collided and I imagine they hit helmet to helmet, so it was actually a scary collision. I do not suppose Steve had the power to interrupt his fall when he fell to the ice. We actually hope he’ll be OK. That was a scary second within the sport.”
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper concurred.
“That was robust to look at,” he stated. “However [Fleury], I went into the locker room throughout that pause. Naturally, he was a bit shook up. It was simply a type of performs that was type of a freak accident. However hopefully, each guys might be OK.”
Within the win, Michael Bunting snapped a tie with 5:28 left within the third interval because the Penguins moved right into a playoff spot. Evgeni Malkin had two objectives and an help for Pittsburgh, and Bunting additionally had two assists. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang additionally scored.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
