NHL on-ice official seriously injured when he got caught in the crossfire of a pair of cheap shots

• An NHL linesman was seriously injured after getting caught in the crossfire of some cheap shots.
• Travis Toomey fell over a player and had his hand slashed by a skate blade.
• The former player needed 10-12 stitches and did not return to the game.

Things got ugly between the Edmonton Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, and one linesman became collateral damage.

Near the end of the first period, the Lightning's Nikita Kucherov cross-checked Evander Kane from behind, sending him to the ice. As he started to get back up, he intentionally tripped Kucherov. 

Unfortunately for NHL linesman Travis Toomey, he got caught in the middle.

Tripping over Kucherov, he placed his hands on the ice, where the area around his left wrist was exposed to the player's skate. In the replay below, you can see Toomey immediately recognize the injury, cover it, and skate off the ice while players are still scuffling.

—Cork Gaines, Ph.D. (@CorkGaines) January 20, 2023

Toomey is a former player, having spent five seasons playing junior hockey in the WHL.

According to Leah Hextall of ESPN, Toomey needed 10-12 stitches and did not return to the game. He may have been lucky and avoided more severe injury as the gash occurred on the meaty part of the hand, just below the thumb, and not the wrist. 

Ultimately, after the skirmish was settled, Kucherov was never called for the cross-check. The other officials gave a pair of roughing penalties to Kane and the Lightning's Zach Bogosian for their part in the scuffle. The refs then reviewed the play and gave Kane an additional two minutes for tripping, but Kucherov got off scot-free.

The Oilers went on to win the game, 5-3.