Referee knocked out after colliding with Haydn Fleury.

A very scary situation in the National Hockey League this afternoon.

My thoughts will be with veteran NHL referee Steve Kozari today after he was seriously injured during a game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Kozari was knocked out cold when he collided with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury near center ice in what appeared to be a complete freak accident. It would be Leah Hextall, during the live broadcast, that would confirm that Kozari lost consciousness as a result of the impact with Fleury.

In a great show of class, both teams emptied their benches and came out on the ice to cheer Kozari on as he was carried off.

The Lightning have also confirmed that Haydn Fleury will not return today, so this was a pretty forceful collision between the two men.

Update: Close up video of the moment of impact: