Golden Knights center crushes ref into the boards, forcing him to leave with injury

Billy Heyen

Golden Knights center crushes ref into the boards, forcing him to leave with injury image

It was a classic case of wrong place at the wrong time.

One of the linesmen during the Golden Knights-Wild playoff game late Sunday night was heading toward the boards as a puck was cleared up the ice.

Skating over to try and stop the puck was Vegas center Brett Howden. But the puck made it by.

The problem? Howden was skating too fast to stop. And he absolutely crushed the linesman into the board.

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The man in stripes eventually had to leave the game.

Howden certainly laid the boom on the official.

It's not a great way to make any friends in stripes, even though this was clearly unintentional.

Things probably could've ended even worse for the ref, and the same can be said for Howden.

Hockey players and refs are tough, so maybe they'll both make it back out on the ice soon enough.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle