NHL referee Chris Rooney is OK after leaving the Florida Panthers’ Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night with a scary looking eye injury.
Rooney took an inadvertent stick to the face just a few seconds into the second period of the Panthers’ 6-1 win at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday. The stick, which belonged to Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, grazed Rooney’s face and nearly knocked his helmet off completely.
Rooney went down and immediately reached for his face and his right eye, which was gushing blood. He was eventually walked off the ice with some assistance and a bloody towel held up against his face.