St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway was hospitalized after being struck in the neck by the puck during a game.
The scary scene happened during the Blues’ home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, November 5, when Holloway, 23, was hit by the puck with 2:37 remaining in the first period.
Holloway finished his shift and made his way to the Blues bench under his own power, but his teammates began gesturing toward the officials moments later.
“I was just sitting beside him and saw something was happening,” Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko told reporters after the game.
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Blues trainer Ray Barile and medical personnel from both teams tended to Holloway for several minutes before he was taken off the bench on a stretcher.
“I told Ray. He knows what he’s doing,” Toropchenko, 25, continued. “I was just kind of curious to what’s going on. Doctors came in and, like, I think everything is good right now. But we were worried, everybody.”
Shortly after, the Blues announced Holloway was alert and stable and was being taken to a St. Louis hospital for observation.
Hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported on Monday evening that Holloway is “going to be OK.”
“His airway is open and unobstructed,” Seravalli shared via X. “There’s no swelling around his neck, precautionary scan scheduled at hospital. Holloway’s parents were in town for the game and are with him at hospital.”
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After Holloway was stretchered off, officials sent both teams to their locker rooms. The game later resumed, with the Blues winning 3-2.
“The only way I can put it is if you’re at work, and you get a call, and one of your family members is sick and you rush to the hospital,” Blues head coach Drew Bannister said of the incident. “Holly’s a family member. That was tough. I thought we, as a group, showed a lot of fortitude, and the way mentally being able to push through that, because the easiest thing to do is your head goes somewhere else.”
He continued, “But we were able to get updates on Holly and kind of put our minds at ease a little bit and refocus ourselves.”
Blues captain Brayden Schenn added after the game, “It’s hard. It’s your teammate. Then we got news that he’s going to be fine. And then, you have to wrap your head around it a little bit and go play a hockey game again, right? So that’s just, unfortunately, the reality of the sport, and it took us a while to get going.”
