Stars Forward Richard Peverley Collapses Bench

During Monday night’s matchup between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets, a disturbing scene unfolded on the home team’s bench. Just over six minutes into the game, Stars forward Rich Peverley collapsed among his teammates on the bench.

[Click here to see video of the incident]

Players from both teams banged their sticks on the boards and ice in an effort to attract the attention of the officials. Play stopped at 6:23 of the first, as Peverley was tended to by medical staff and quickly carried away from the bench.

An announcement that he was conscious and en route to the hospital was made at the arena several minutes later. Peverley was “successfully” treated for what was described by Dr. Gil Salazar as a “cardiac event.”

As jarring as the incident was to players and fans alike, it was not completely without warning. Peverley actually missed the entire preseason and the season opener after undergoing a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat.

The Stars were so shaken by the dramatic scene that the decision was made to postpone the game. Blue Jackets president of hockey operations John Davidson didn’t object, “They’re shaken and they want to reschedule. We understand that. … They were shaken to their core.”

When play was stopped, Columbus was up 1-0 on Dallas. At this time there is no word on when the game will be made up.