Pittsburgh — At 6 minutes, 11 seconds into the third period of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 5-4 win at PPG Paints Arena, referee Steve Kozali collided with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury, who was carried off the ice on a stretcher. I was taken down.
Kozali remained collapsed while Fleury was helped to Tampa Bay's locker room. The 46-year-old was attended to by 11 medical staff, including staff from each team and staff from Pittsburgh Medical Services.
“I caught it out of the corner of my eye,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Tampa's defensemen… were coming off the bench. I think they both saw the puck the same way I did. So I caught it out of the corner of my eye. But at the last moment they collided. And I believe they hit helmet to helmet.
“So it was a really scary crash because I don't think Steve had the ability to stop himself when he fell to the ice. We really hope he's okay. That was in the middle of a game. It was a scary moment.”
Kozali was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital for precautionary reasons, but has the use of all of his limbs and is expected to make a full recovery.
Players from each team surrounded Kozari, who was placed on the backboard. He could move his arms.
“It was terrible,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “I wasn't feeling well. Of course I wish Steve the best. I hope he's OK. But I think every time something like that happens and you've been in games like that. , we're going to try to regroup as quickly as possible.'' They (Lightning) probably did a better job of that than we did. ”
Kozali has coached 136 games in the NHL, including 1,151 regular season games and four Stanley Cup Finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He refereed minor hockey games around his hometown of Penticton, British Columbia, and then spent 10 seasons as an umpire in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He was selected as the WHL's Umpire of the Year after the 2002-03 season, and in 2003 he played in the Canadian Hockey League's Memorial Cup.
In late June 2003, he was invited to an NHL umpiring camp in Guelph, Ontario, and was offered an NHL minor league umpiring contract.
Kozali was promoted to full-time NHL status in the summer of 2007.
Fleury, who did not return Saturday, has five points (one goal, four assists) in 23 games this season.
“That was tough to watch,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Between us, [Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail] Sergachev, we have experienced some difficult instances of seeing that happen. But “Fleur”, I went into the locker room during that hiatus. Understandably, he was a little upset. It was just one of those plays that was kind of a freak accident. But hopefully we'll both be okay. ”
The match ended with one referee and two linesmen.
