Holloway was hit in the neck area by a puck with 2:37 remaining in the period.
St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway suffered a neck injury during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The injury occurred when a puck deflected off the stick of Lightning forward Nick Paul and struck Holloway on the right side of his neck. Despite finishing his shift, Holloway began to experience discomfort and was immediately attended to by medical staff.
He was later taken off the ice on a stretcher and rushed to hospital. The Blues later gave a positive update on Holloway’s condition and confirmed that the forward was found to be in stable condition, alert, and with his airway unobstructed.
Dr. Brian Sutterer, a sports medicine expert, posted a video explaining the incident, mentioned that the puck hit Holloway more on the lateral portion of his neck, avoiding the front of the throat and trachea.
Notably, Holloway skated around for a while after the hit but showed signs of pain and discomfort, leading to the decision to take him off the ice on a stretcher. Medical staff was also seen stabilizing Holloway’s cervical spine before he was transported to hospital.
Dr. Brian pointed out that since Holloway seemed light-headed before being carried off, it could likely be a brachial plexus nerve injury also known as Stinger. He explained that a stinger can cause numbness, tan symptoms down the arm and can lead to discomfort.
The other possibility Dr. Brian pointed out was a blow to carotid artery which could lead to a low blood pressure, resulting in dizziness.
“Sitting behind that sternocleidomastoid is going to be the common carotid artery, the jugular veins and within that carotid artery, our pressure sensors that your body uses to help regulate blood pressure. So if your blood pressure is high there’s key cells that sit in this carotid that will sense your blood pressure as high and as a response will dilate your blood vessels try to drop your blood pressure and sometimes you can even pass out”, Dr. Brian revealed.
While the Blues have confirmed that Dylan is stable, they haven’t provided any update on his availability for the Thursday’s game versus Utah.
Also Read: Utah’s NHL Excitement Soars: Will the Hype Last for Utah Hockey Club?
Image Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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