Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s weekly Three Periods column appears on Thursdays. This week’s topics include how the NHL might change its emergency medical standards after the Rich Peverley incident; Ryan Miller’s adjustment to seeing fewer shots with the St. Louis Blues isn’t as easy as it seems; Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester are a better defensive pair after playing in the Olympics; and, Thomas Vanek’s passes can be hard to handle.

FIRST PERIOD: Could Peverley incident lead to ER doctor at every game?

NHL officials are discussing changing their emergency medical standards in the wake of the Rich Peverley cardiac incident, as they did after the Jiri Fischer cardiac incident in 2005. One idea: posting an emergency-room doctor at every game.

“Who does this on an everyday basis? ER docs,” said Tony Colucci, head physician of the Detroit Red Wings and co-chair of the emergency care task group. “ER docs are sitting in a room in a certain designated area, and anything can fall in their laps at any second, some disaster. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening here, and that’s why I think they’re the best trained.”



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Fischer, then a 25-year-old defenseman with the Wings, went into cardiac arrest during a game Nov. 21, 2005. Colucci was prepared: One, he was an ER doctor used to handling everything from car accidents to heart attacks. Two, he knew Fischer had a heart condition and had put an Automated External Defibrillator near the Wings’ bench as a precaution. Three, he sat in the stands near the Wings’ bench at Joe Louis Arena, because that’s where his predecessor, longtime Wings physician John Finley, had sat.

Colucci reached Fischer seconds after he collapsed on the bench and reacted without needing to think. He defibrillated Fischer on the spot and saved his life. Fischer never played again, but he’s 33 now. He’s the father of two sons – one who was born 10 months after the incident – and works in the Wings’ front office.

At the first gathering of NHL doctors after the Fischer incident, Colucci was asked to tell the story. Most NHL doctors are not ER doctors. They are trained to handle illnesses and injuries. “There were a lot of gasps,” Colucci said. “There were a lot of guys that were like, ‘I don’t know if I really know what to do. We don’t have that in our building. We don’t know where our AED is.’ ” A lot of guys didn’t sit in the high-priced seats near the benches, either.

The standards changed. Each team must have at least two physicians at each home game, and one must have completed hockey-specific trauma management training or Advanced Trauma Life Support training in the previous three years. The physicians must be seated within 50 feet of the bench with immediate access to the bench and the ice. There must be one AED at the home team’s bench and another on an ambulance dedicated to the players.

Peverley, a 31-year-old winger with the Dallas Stars, went into cardiac arrest during a game March 10. The Stars were prepared: One, they have an ER doctor at every game. Two, they knew Peverley had a heart condition. Three, their doctors sat near the bench and had direct access to it.

The Stars’ doctors reached Peverley seconds after he collapsed on the bench and reacted without needing to think. They had to pull him into the hallway because there wasn’t enough room to work on the spot, but they defibrillated him quickly and saved his life. He has had another procedure and is out for the season. No decision has been made about his career.



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“It was deja vu,” said Stars general manager Jim Nill, who was the Wings’ assistant GM when Fischer collapsed. “It was as smooth as could be. It was amazing how quickly it was taken care of. Even when he came back around, the first thing he asked was, ‘Well, what’s the score in the game? What’s the time in the period?’ It was almost like it never happened.

“He’s doing well. He’s been at practice almost every day. If you saw him, it’s like Fischer. You’d think nothing happened. It’s amazing.”

Not every team has an ER doctor at every game, though. Team physicians might be seated nearby, might have an AED handy and might have completed training, but handling a life-and-death emergency is still not what most are used to doing.

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