Referee Steve Kozari was involved in a scary NHL collision on the ice Saturday as the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. The referee collided with Lightning defenseman Haydn Fleury, and both Kozari and the Tampa Bay player hit the ice hard as a result. Kozari momentarily lost consciousness and he was stretchered off the ice by emergency personnel and taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital.

Kozari reportedly was able to move all extremities prior to being taken to the hospital, and the NHL confirmed that he was responding to treatment and was expected to make a full recovery from the incident.

Fleury was able to leave the ice under his own power, but he did not return to the game after going to the Pittsburgh locker room where he was examined by team medical personnel.

Kozari has officiated 1,151 regular-season games in the NHL and 136 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has officiated in four Stanley Cup Finals.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan did not think that Kozari was able to use his arms to break his fall, and that's what made the incident so scary.

“I caught it out of the corner of my eye,” Sullivan said. “Tampa's defenseman … was coming off the bench. I think both of them were looking at the puck, as was I. So I caught it out of the corner of my eye. But at the last second, they collided and, I believe, they hit helmet to helmet.

“So it was really a scary collision because I don't think Steve had the ability to break his fall when he fell to the ice. We certainly hope he's going to be OK.”

There is no word on when Steve Kozari will return to NHL ice at this point.

Penguins surging late in the season

The Penguins have been playing solid hockey in the last few weeks after they had apparently buried themselves earlier in the season. They emerged from their game with the Lightning with a 5-4 triumph. The Penguins had a 4-1 lead after two periods, but Tampa Bay roared back to tie the game in the third period.

However, just when it looked like the Lightning might come away with the win, Michael Bunting scored the go-ahead goal for the Penguins with 5:28 remaining in the third period. Tampa Bay stormed the Pittsburgh zone in the final two minutes, but goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was able to hold off the Lightning.

Pittsburgh has won four games in a row and the Penguins are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. They have 83 points with five games remaining in the season and they have moved into the No. 2 Wild Card spot. They also have the same number of points as the New York Islanders. New York is in the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division.

The Philadelphia Flyers also have 83 points, but they are on the outside of the NHL playoff structure at this point.