Columbus Blue Jackets @ Dallas Stars 1-0 abandoned - 03/10

The game between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets has been postponed. A decision about the remainder of the game will be made at a later date by the National Hockey League. Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench during the first period. He was tended to by medical personnel immediately and was conscious upon being transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation. Peverley was reported to be doing well and in stable condition by the Stars public relations department. Columbus was leading, 1-0, with 13:37 remaining in the first period at the time it was postponed. Following the postponement, the NHL issued the following statement:
Dallas player Rich Peverley is doing well and is in stable condition. He has has been transported to the hospital. As a result of the emotional state of the players on both teams caused by the medical emergency, the game is being postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience and we thank the fans.In the aftermath of the incident the day provided a series of updates:
Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin expressed the sentiment shared by his teammates and organization in light of the incident Monday night involving Rich Peverley.
"Thank God he's OK," Seguin said of Peverley after a morning skate Tuesday before the Stars are set to play the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. "Hockey's just a game at that point. It really puts things in perspective."
Peverley, who collapsed Monday night on the bench during the first period of the Stars' home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, is resting comfortably, general manager Jim Nill said in a statement released by the team. The NHL postponed the game Monday at 6:23 of the first period. The Stars are currently working with the NHL to determine scheduling arrangements for the game, according to a statement on the team's website. Stars captain Jamie Benn, who along with Seguin came off the ice from a shift with Peverley, said the mood Tuesday is much better with the team after they found out Peverley was in stable condition.
"It's a big relief," Benn said. "We were pretty scared there. Once we found out that he was good and stable, it was a very big relief. He's in good hands. It's something you never want to see. Obviously Rich is a big part of this team. We're obviously a family in here and we never want to see someone go down like that."
Nill left the League's GM meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., to return to Dallas and said in a statement the 31-year-old Peverley is doing well.
"Rich Peverley is resting comfortably and being monitored at UT Southwestern St. Paul," Nill said in the statement. "He is currently undergoing testing to discover what triggered the cardiac event [Monday] night. The focus of all the testing and monitoring is being dedicated to finding the cause of the event and a long-term solution to rectify the problem. Rich has been communicating with his teammates and friends. He is extremely grateful for all of the prayers and support that he's received from fans and friends alike."
Peverley has a documented history of heart issues and has been closely monitored by Stars doctors all season. He took a physical prior to training camp and it revealed he had an irregular heartbeat. Peverley underwent a procedure in Cleveland in September and missed all of camp, the entire slate of preseason games and the first regular-season game for the Stars. He missed a game March 4 in Columbus because of the issue. Stars coach Lindy Ruff and teammates received text messages from Peverley, whose wife relayed a message to Ruff and players as well.
"He's doing good," Ruff said. "He's stable, he's in good spirits. A few guys said he's interacted and said he's got his sense of humor back and ready. … We've got a player now there that's going to be fine. He's in good medical care and the story we get to tell is a real good one. That's the part I like."
The Stars, who recalled forwards Colton Sceviour and Chris Mueller from the American Hockey League's Texas Stars, did leave right wing Alex Chiasson home Monday after the forward experienced anxiety attacks in light of the incident with Peverley, a close friend.
"He was shaken by the whole event; emotionally shaken," Ruff said of Chiasson, who was checked into a local hospital for observation. "He wasn't doing very well so we thought best to get him under some care. He's going to be fine, but Alex was really stressed by it."
Veteran right wing Ray Whitney said he's never experienced anything like it. Whitney was a member of the Detroit Red Wings in 2005 when Jiri Fischer collapsed on the bench with a similar issue, but he was injured and did not play in that game.
"It's certainly a scary moment," Whitney said. "Not only for all of us but obviously for [Peverley's] wife and son, who were with him last night. We all know the history of his condition. Thankfully our medical staff was right there. He sent a text out; we all got it. [It] said he's doing fine, thanks for the support."
It's now up to Ruff to get his players focused on a game Tuesday, which may be one of the toughest tasks as a coach to date.
"You give them their time," Ruff said of the players. "I thought this morning for a second that we kind of drifted off. We just tried to get their attention again. I called them together and said, 'We've got a game to play. Pevs is fine. Pevs would want us to play hard and get focused. It's my job to get them ready and I'm going to have them ready. And they're professionals. That was hard. That shook everybody. That was a real hard emotional event. It doesn't go away instantaneously, but we'll get through it."
The Stars will hold a press conference Wednesday, along with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center doctors, to give an update on Peverley's condition. Dallas Stars center Rich Peverley is in stable condition Tuesday at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center after collapsing during a the first period of a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at American Airlines Center. Doctors on the scene said Peverley had a heart-related incident.
"Rich Peverley is resting comfortably and being monitored at UT Southwestern St. Paul," general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. "He is currently undergoing testing to discover what triggered the cardiac event last night. The focus of all the testing and monitoring is being dedicated to finding the cause of the event and a long-term solution to rectify the problem. We do not have any more specifics at the moment. Rich has been communicating with his teammates and friends. He is extremely grateful for all of the prayers and support that he’s received from fans and friends alike."
The game was postponed after the incident. A decision about the remainder of the game will be made at a later date. The Stars are currently working with the NHL to determine scheduling arrangements. They play at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Nill, who was in Boca Raton, Fla., for the March meetings of the League's general managers, left the meeting and is returning to Dallas, according to a team spokesman.
"We successfully treated him for a cardiac event with standard therapy," Dr. Gil Salazar of UT Southwestern Emergency Medicine said. "We provided oxygen for him. We started an IV. We did chest compressions on him and defibrillated him, provided some electricity to bring a rhythm back to his heart, and that was successful with one attempt, which is very reassuring. As soon as we treated him, he regained consciousness. He was alert and talking to us after the event and quickly got transported to the hospital. I was actually able to talk to him in the back of the ambulance; he was able to tell me where he was and wanted to get back into the game."
Peverley, 31, has a documented history of heart issues. A physical prior to training camp revealed he had an irregular heartbeat. He underwent a procedure in Cleveland in September and missed all of camp, the preseason and the first regular-season game. He missed a game March 4 in Columbus because of the issue. Stars team doctors have said Peverley's condition has been closely monitored all season. Peverley collapsed on the bench after he finished a shift 5:50 into the first period. Stars coach Lindy Ruff immediately called for a doctor, and medical personnel carried Peverley away from the bench area and into a hallway leading to the Dallas locker room.
"I was scared," Ruff said in a press conference after the incident. "My first emotion was we need somebody here real quick. When he dropped, it was red alert, don't worry about the game, don't worry about anything else; just turn around and scream for a doctor and that's all. It was just let's get him the help he needs, and they came and got him the help. For me, it was something I don't want to witness again."
When Peverley collapsed, his teammates frantically banged their sticks on the boards to signal for the officials to stop the game, and at 6:23 of the first period, the game was halted. After a delay of about 15 minutes, each team returned to its locker room. Ruff said he addressed his players after the incident and none of them were in any condition to play.
"There's nobody in there that wants to play hockey right now, and I think everybody understands that when you've witnessed what they had to witness and that's their teammate," Ruff said. "And that's the right place to be. That's the right emotion to have. They're not doing very good, and I wouldn't expect them to be."

Ruff did speak to Peverley after he was resuscitated. The first thing his veteran center asked him was how much time was left in the first period. Peverley's wife, Nathalie, was at the game and accompanied him in the ambulance. The Stars departed for St. Louis as scheduled. Ruff kept his comments to the press brief, but he did take a moment to commend the medical staff who rushed to Peverley's aid for their immediate attention.
"I was there first-hand, and if it wasn't for our doctors and all the members reacting so quickly and so efficiently, I could be standing here with a different story," Ruff said. "But they did an absolutely fabulous job."
Once a decision is made on the rescheduling of the game, the Stars will contact all ticket holders with options for using their March 10 tickets for a future game. Details on the procedure will be posted on DallasStars.com and via official Stars social media accounts, as well as emailed to all fans who have chosen to receive emails. In the meantime, fans are urged to retain their ticket stubs from the postponed game.

Knowing Dallas Stars center Rich Peverley is recovering after collapsing on the bench during their game Monday will help the Columbus Blue Jackets move on and prepare better for an important Eastern Conference game Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at Nationwide Arena.

"The show goes on, but the good thing is that Rich Peverley is doing OK," Columbus left wing Nick Foligno said.

The game in Dallas was halted with 13:37 to play in the first period when Peverley collapsed on the bench after his shift. He was carried to the hallway leading to the Dallas locker room where aid, including chest compressions and a defibrillator, were used. He then was transported to a hospital, where the Stars said he is in stable condition. Columbus were leading 1-0 at the time on a Nathan Horton goal. The game was postponed and a decision about the remainder of the game is to be determined by the NHL. Peverley had a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat and missed all of training camp and the first game of the season, Oct. 3 against the Florida Panthers. He also missed the Stars' game in Columbus on March 4 because he said he didn't feel well enough to fly and coach Lindy Ruff later said it was related to Peverley's heart condition. Peverley returned to play the next two games.

"We were there," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "It's something different if you're distanced from it. Not that it doesn't affect you, because I think it affected everyone, but we were right in the middle of it."

Richards coached Peverley for two seasons in the American Hockey League. Horton and Peverley were teammates with the Boston Bruins. Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said he and his teammates are coming to grips with what they witnessed in Dallas. "Obviously being part of a traumatic incident like that is never easy, but hopefully the fact he is doing well will allow us to get ready for an important game," he said.

The situation on the bench brought back memories of when Detroit defenseman Jiri Fischer went into cardiac arrest during a game against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 21, 2005. Fischer, now the Red Wings' director of player development, subsequently retired due to heart problems.

"It affects everybody," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "I know how rattled our guys were. It's way different than hockey and obviously way more important than hockey."

But there is a key game at hand.

"Playing Detroit in such a big game, it might be easier for us to refocus," Richards said.

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings each have 71 points, but Columbus holds the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by virtue of four more regulation/overtime wins.

"The bottom line is we both have a big game [Tuesday]," Babcock said. "We both basically need to win two of every three to get in. It's a big game, but isn't that why you play?"

Richards said goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will go against the Red Wings after backup Curtis McElhinney got the start in Dallas. There are no other lineup changes. For Detroit, center Cory Emmerton was called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League to replace center Joakim Andersson, who broke his foot Sunday against the New York Rangers.

The St. Louis Blues understand it will be business as usual when they face the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. But there was obvious concern for Dallas forward Rich Peverley, who has a history of heart issues and collapsed on the bench Monday during the Stars' game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. As the teams prepared for an important Central Division game, it was clear that Peverley remained in everyone's thoughts.

"Our thoughts and prayers are for sure with Rich Peverley and his family," Blues captain David Backes said. "This is a game and it kind of puts things in perspective that there's life after this game. There's things that are bigger and more important. Hopefully he's recovering well and stable and can figure out whatever's going on so that maybe he can make it back. His health is the No. 1 concern. I'm sure those guys [the Stars] will have heavy hearts and thoughts. He's on our mind too. It's going to be a game when the puck drops and you try to compartmentalize that and go at it. ... It's on your minds and on your thoughts."

Former Stars left wing Brenden Morrow said it's natural for anyone to be shaken up. "I was just like any other fan," Morrow said. "It's tough to watch and sad. You're just glad that the medical personnel were as fast and swift and thorough as they were to take care of it. I don't know where to begin with what they were thinking in that locker room over there."

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said he's witnessed something similar in junior hockey a few times but never at the NHL level. "It's tough. It's very emotional. We're watching it on TV ... the silence was just deafening. When [broadcasters] Ralph [Strangis] and Razor [Daryl Reaugh] were doing it and not saying anything to us was probably the best approach, but waiting for information was really hard for all of us. I know some of those trainers. I've worked with those trainers and when I saw Craig [Lowry, associate athletic trainer] running sideways on the bench there, I knew there was big trouble."

The Blues (44-14-6) boast the NHL's top record and could increase their margin to three points ahead of the second-place Anaheim Ducks with a victory. The Stars (31-23-10) hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and must regroup to try and fend off a number of teams. The Phoenix Coyotes are one point behind the Stars, who have a game in hand, heading into action Tuesday. The Stars recalled forwards Colton Sceviour and Chris Mueller from the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League to replace Peverley and Alex Chiasson, who was left behind in Dallas on Monday to be observed for anxiety attacks following the Peverley incident.

"I had that question earlier. Is it best to play or sit out and wait a few games? I guess time will tell," Stars veteran left wing Ray Whitney said. "We'll see [Tuesday], but I think as a group, knowing Rich is doing fine, doing well, I think it's best to get going and play right away and get it behind us. We're very thankful that he's going to be fine and make a recovery."