Blues forward Dylan Holloway was hospitalized after being hit in the neck by a puck

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway left Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, leaving the court on a stretcher after being hit by a puck late in the first period.

Holloway was hit in the neck area by a puck with 2:37 left and finished his shift, continuing to participate in the game before sliding to the bench under his own power.

When the game was stopped with 1:11 left for a high-stick penalty that was later canceled, teammates shouted and gestured for help.

Blues coach Ray Barile and medical staff from both teams tended to Holloway for several minutes before paramedics carried him off the bench on a stretcher.

“I was just sitting next to him and I saw something happen,” Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko said. “I told Ray. He knows what he's doing. I was just curious about what was going on. The doctors came in and I think everything is good at the moment. But we were all worried.”

Holloway was seen raising his arm as he was taken away. The Blues later announced that Holloway was alert and stable and was being taken to a St. Louis-area hospital for further observation.

“I think the only way I can say it is if you're at work and you get a call and one of your family members is sick and you rush to the hospital,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “Holly is a member of the family. That was hard. I thought we showed a lot of fortitude as a group and were mentally capable of pushing through this because the easiest thing to do is put your head somewhere else. But we were able to catch up on Holly and calm down a bit and refocus.”

Referees Wes McCauley and Cody Beach sent the teams to their locker rooms and initiated the first break after Holloway was transported off the bench due to the nature of the injury.

“It’s hard,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “It’s your teammate. Then we got the news that he will be fine. And then you have to deal with it a little bit and play a hockey game again, right? So unfortunately that’s just the reality of the sport and it took a while to get going.”

St. Louis gathered its strength and scored three goals after falling behind 1-0 early in the second period defeated Tampa Bay 3-2.

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