PHILADELPHIA -- Referee Mitch Dunning was removed from the ice on a stretcher after a collision with defenseman Josh Manson of the Colorado Avalanche during the first period of their 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Monday.
Dunning was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons. All neurological signs are normal, he is fully communicative and can move all his extremities.
Dunning was positioned in the neutral zone when Manson hit him while trying to join the play in the Philadelphia zone. Play was stopped with 13:37 remaining as medical officials tended to Dunning.
Players from both teams checked on the official as he was taken from the ice through the Zamboni tunnel.
The game continued with one referee and two linesmen.
Dunning, 32, is in his seventh season as an NHL referee, having made his debut March 28, 2019.
He is a veteran of junior hockey in Canada, where the defenseman played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, for Sarnia (2008-09) and Windsor (2009-10).
