On March 10, the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars had to be stopped due to a medical emergency on the bench suffered by Stars’ winger Rich Peverley.  Thankfully, Peverly has recovered and hopes to return to the NHL.

Play was stopped 6:23 into the first period with the Columbus Blue Jackets leading 1-0 on a power play goal by Nathan Horton.

So what happens to the game?

Teams Will Play a Full 60-Minute Game

The clubs will play a full 60-minute game tonight (65, if it goes to overtime). The 6:23 that was played on March 10 gets completely wiped off the stat sheet.  That means the shots on goal (Columbus: 9, Dallas: 4), penalty minutes (2 to Dallas forward Shawn Horcoff), hits, and faceoff totals all go back to zero.  So we’re starting fresh, right?  Not exactly.

Columbus Already Leads 1-0

Since Columbus scored first, with Nathan Horton netting a power-play marker at 2:44 of the first, the game will start with the Blue Jackets up 1-0.  Assists on that goal went to Matt Calvert and James Wisniewski.   The goal will show on the official scoresheet as 0:00 of the first period, and will not count as a shot on goal.   It also won’t count as a goal against the Dallas goaltender, nor will it factor into his save percentage or goals against average.   About Nathan Horton…

Roster Changes (Possibly Making History)

The teams are free to change their lineups.  One change will be the absence of Columbus forward Nathan Horton from tonight’s game.  He returned from an injury last night only to leave the game after just 5:21 of ice time. He did not travel with the team to Dallas.  By missing tonight’s match, Horton will become the first NHL  player to have officially scored a goal in a game in which he did not play.  He won’t be in the lineup, won’t have any ice time or shots on goal, but he will be credited with scoring the first goal of the game.

There is league precedent for this approach. The same thing happened back in 2006 when Detroit’s Jiri Fischer suffered a seizure on the bench.  The game was stopped and later rescheduled in its entirety. Greg Johnson’s goal was awarded at 0:00 of the restarted game, giving the Wings a 1-0 lead at the start of 60 minutes.  The difference is that Johnson played in the rescheduled complete game.

Dallas Stars Goaltender Kari Lehtonen

Dallas Stars Goaltender Kari Lehtonen  (Image: Bridget Samuels)

More lineup changes are likely in store for the men in the blue paint.  The now-cancelled version of the game saw Dallas’s Tim Thomas face off in net against the Jackets’ Curtis McElhinney.  With both teams’ playoff hopes on the line, expect to see Sergei Bobrovsky and Kari Lehtonen between the pipes for their respective teams.

New Game, New Referees

The officials from the March 10 match will also not be in the lineup for tonight’s game.  Referees Francis Charron (#6) and Marc Joannette (#25), along with linesmen Don Henderson (#91) and Jonny Murray (#95), won’t be donning the stripes this evening in Dallas.

Instead, the game will be officiated by referees Steve Kozari (#40) and Chris Rooney (#5), while Darren Gibbs (#66) and Andy McElman (#90) man the lines.

Follow us on Twitter  – @scoutingtherefs