NHL linesman Steve Miller left Tuesday night's game between the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars with concussion-like symptoms.
Miller hit his head in the first period when he accidentally collided with Stars defenseman Mark Fistric.
Miller left the ice and was treated by Stars medical personnel, who ruled him out for the rest of the game.
The remainder of the game was officiated by two referees and one linesman.
Injuries to officials are not a rare thing. It is scary to think that the Linesman may have suffered a concussion.
The odd thing is that the player that accidently delivered the blow was Mark Fistric. Does that name sound familiar?
Fistric was suspended in December for an illegal charge where the victim suffered a concussion. This injury appears to be a complete accident by all accounts. It's just ironic.
You can watch video of the game highlights below.
Link to video
Normally, the Referees are unable to call icing or off-sides, nor do they drop the puck for faceoffs (except to start periods and after goals). However, Rule 32.6 gives the Referees the ability to assist the remaining Linesman in his duties while retaining their ability to call penalties should a Linesman leave the game due to accident.
You can see that the remaining Linesman stayed more in the neutral zone than right on the blueline. I can't tell if the Referees did the faceoffs or not, but I suspect they did. If you look at the 3:40ish mark, it looks like the Referee has just dropped the puck at the far circle because of the way his back is to the rest of the ice. Also, I would assume there was a lot more yelling from the remaining officials as to what was going on with upcoming penalties and such. If a Referee did witness and off-sides or an icing, then he might raise his hand (like a Linesman), but if a Referee's hand is up, it generally means a delayed penalty. By yelling something like "Icing! Icing!", it would properly communicate what's happening.
Actually, this game didn't see a lot of the Ref's raising their hands in calling penalties. There was only one, 15 seconds into the game. Holding the stick by Todd Bertuzzi.
My best wishes to Steve Miller in a speedy recovery.
