Referee stretchered off the ice following scary hit with Haydn Fleury

On Saturday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a game with massive playoff implications and in the third period, a scary scene took place involving referee Steve Kozari.

Early in the third period, Kozari was skating through center ice when he collides with Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Haydn Fleury. Both Kozari and Fleury were in obvious pain following the collision, with the referee appearing to be knocked out.

After being down on the ice for several minutes, medical staff were able to get Steve Kozari onto a stretcher where he would leave the game. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning came off their benches to surround Kozari as he was being stretchered off, with fans in attendance giving him a loud ovation, hoping that he'll recovery from his injuries quickly.

At this time, the status of Steve Kozari is unclear, but everyone in the hockey community is hoping that he'll be back on the ice as soon as he's physically able to.


Everyone at Canucks Daily sends their best wishes to Steve Kozari at this time.



The NHL issued a statement confirming his status: