Linesman Injured in Nasty Canadiens/Rangers Clash: Forced to Leave Game

Even though it's usually the players in NHL games who take the brunt of the injuries, sometimes the on-ice officials can suffer injuries of their own.

That was the case tonight between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, as linesman Scott Cherrey was hurt after he was accidentally struck in the face with the puck on a zone dump-in by Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson.

Replays showed that Cherrey already had a massive welt on the right side of his cheek while he was being attended to by Canadiens athletic trainer Jim Ramsay.

Cherrey then left the game after he was noticeably wobbly while getting up from the ice, and will likely be put into concussion protocol.

Let's hope that Cherrey is okay and will soon be able to return to the ice to continue his duties.

There have been multiple examples of on-ice officials getting hurt during games, most recently with referee Chris Rooney during Game 7 of the ECSF last year between the Maple Leafs and Panthers. He was high sticked accidentally early in the 2nd period of the game and wasn't able to continue.

There was also a surprising incident of violence in 2016 when former Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman shoved linesman Don Henderson on his way to the bench; he would later claim it was because of symptoms from a concussion that he suffered.

Wideman was understandably suspended for 20 games, though an arbitrator later reduced that number.