Referee injured by puck, instantly regrets standing in shooting lane
Referee Francois St Laurent has been accused of having bias against certain teams in the past. He also has what seems to be a blood feud with Panthers head coach Maurice, who was fined for his comments regarding St Laurent just last week. Lets not even mention what he did to the Leafs in last season's playoffs.
His calls on the ice may draw the ire of coaches and fans everywhere, but you still never like to see a guy get hurt. Luckily, it was a long way from the heart, so we can laugh about it a little without feeling too bad.
During a game between the LA Kings and Nashville Predators, Kings forward Andrian Kempe crossed the Preds blue line with speed and fired a shot past the defender towards Jude Saros. The puck never reached the net, however, instead it drilled St Laurent in the knee. What was he doing in the middle of the play? We'll never know. For a guy who calls so many bad penalties, he may be a decent penalty killer himself. It was an effective shot block after all.
St Laurent required assistance to get off the ice and went to the Predators dressing room to be attended to by medical staff. At this point we do not know the extent of St Laurent's injuries. What we do know is that somewhere out there, Paul Maurice is smiling tonight.
