It was a scary scene in Dallas on Monday night, when Stars forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench during the first period.
The PA announcer informed the crowd that the former Boston Bruin was conscious on his way to the hospital, but the game would be postponed as players on both teams understandably were shaken. As it turns out, though, one person — Peverley — wanted to keep playing.
“He was brought back to the hallway for treatment, where we treated him for a cardiac event, successfully treated with standard therapy,” Dr. Gil Salazar told the Dallas Morning News. “As soon as we treated him, he regained consciousness. He was alert and awake talking to us after the event and quickly transported to the hospital. At this point, I was able to talk to him in the back of the ambulance, and he was able to tell me where he was and he actually wanted to get back in the game.”
Added Salazar: “We provided oxygen for him. We started an IV. We did chest compressions on him and defibrillated him, provided some electricity to bring a rhythm back to his heart, and that was successful with one attempt, which is very reassuring.”
Peverley missed the entire preseason and the Stars’ first regular-season game with an irregular heartbeat. The heart condition also was the reason for his absence in last Tuesday’s game in Columbus.
“It was the same thing,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said last week, per the Morning News. “He’s been monitoring it the whole year and this might have been the first or second time it’s come around, but it’s something he has to deal with and it’s something that obviously we’re aware of.”
The Stars also announced Peverley would undergo more testing over the next few days.
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Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@TexMarine2244
