The accident took place in the Buffalo Sabres vs Flordia Panthers game on Feb 10, 2008. As Panthers captain Olli Jokinen fell to the ice, his skate slashed the throat of a passing Panthers defenceman Richard Zednik. An artery was cut and blood started bursting out. Zednik applied pressure on his throat immediately, and skated towards the bench, where he was attended by the medical staff of the team. A referee realized something had gone wrong when he saw a trail of blood from the spot of the accident to the bench. He blew the whistle, and the game was stopped. Zednik was helped to the dressing room. Everyone in the stadium was in shock.
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Fortunately, the medical staff was able to apply enough pressure to stop the bleeding. Zednik was rushed to Buffalo General Hostpital by ambulance immediately. He was in stable condition.
Upon hearing the news, NHL vice president Colin Campbell consulted with Sabres general manager Darcy Regier, the referees and NHL commisioner Gary Bettman. They decided to continue to game. Sabres won the game 5-3. In the post-game interview, not one person talked about the score or the way they played. Everyone appeared to still be in shock, and only commented on the unfortunate accident. A reporter actually had the audacity to ask how Olli Jokinen felt after accidentally cutting his teammate's throat. The reporter was greeted by the response, "What do you think? What kind of fucking question is that?" He was obviously extremely upset. Hopefully, Richard Zednik will make a full recovery.
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