Fischer Suffers Seizure on Red Wings Bench

Fear gave way to relief at Joe Louis Arena when Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer collapsed on the bench and was revived after his heart stopped.

Fischer suffered a seizure Monday night, just moments after leaving the ice on a shift change following a goal by Nashville's Greg Johnson.

The arena fell silent as medical personnel rushed to the bench when the Red Wings frantically alerted officials to stop the game. CPR was administered by team physician Dr. Tony Colucci before the 25-year-old native of the Czech Republic was removed on a stretcher.

"They hooked up the auto defibrillator and shocked him," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

But by the time Fischer arrived at the hospital, he had improved so much that he was talking and described as being in good spirits when visited by his teammates.

"He'll be here in the hospital the next two days undergoing some further testing," team spokesman John Hahn said.

The game was called off with 7:30 left in the first period. No makeup date was immediately announced.

The only two NHL games that were played to completion Monday night were decided by shootouts. Edmonton topped slumping San Jose 2-1, and Calgary edged Colorado 3-2.

Fischer logged 4 minutes, 52 seconds of playing time — covering six shifts. He recorded one hit and was on the ice when Johnson scored the game's only goal. That occurred just 1:02 before the game was halted.

"I think the players on Nashville's team, like us, they were rattled," Detroit forward Brendan Shanahan said. "Jiri has some friends over there that he played on the Czech national team with."

The Red Wings said they would hold a news conference following practice Tuesday afternoon to update Fischer's condition.

Fischer was diagnosed with a heart abnormality in September 2002, causing him to miss two days of practice. The problem was found on an electrocardiogram as part of a routine battery of tests during the Red Wings' preseason physicals.

When the result was abnormal, Fischer was given a stress test that he passed. He said that his heart essentially is a little thicker than normal.

"I wasn't scared about the abnormality," Fischer said at the time. "But I was scared about not playing hockey again. That was a shock for me."

Medical personnel worked on Fischer at the door to the bench for several minutes Monday before he was wheeled back toward the Red Wings dressing room.

"First of all, everybody is definitely caught by surprise," Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman said. "We turn and see Jiri laying between the boards and the bench and we're not sure why.

"You fear for the guy's life at that moment. I can't remember anything like that."

The decision was made to resurface the ice then, and the remaining time was to be added to the second period. But the game was postponed instead.

"It was obvious to everybody involved that it was the right decision," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "It was very disturbing to both sides and I think the NHL recognized it, the players recognized it. To be quite honest, the game became very secondary. When a friend or a teammate was in danger like Jiri was in, then the decision was made for everybody to reschedule it."

It was not immediately clear whether the game would be played in its entirety or resume from the point of the stoppage.

"Our primary objective is that Jiri is taken care of," Trotz said.

Shanahan helped escort Fischer's fiancee across the ice to the bench area.

"Obviously, she was very worried and concerned. She just wanted to be next to Jiri," Shanahan said.

Oilers 2, Sharks 1, SO

At Edmonton, Alberta, Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky scored shootout goals, lifting the host Oilers over San Jose.

Oilers rookie Mike Morrison stopped 21 shots and then turned aside Niko Dimitrakos, who shot wide of the net, and Jonathan Cheechoo in the shootout. Only Marco Sturm got a shot past him in the tiebreaker as the Sharks lost their sixth straight game, two in a row by shootout.

Patrick Marleau scored on a second-period power play for San Jose. Marty Reasoner tied it for the Oilers late in the period.

San Jose (8-8-4) is on its longest losing streak since a seven-game skid from Dec. 26, 1995-Jan. 10, 1996. Three of the losses in this run were by shootout.

Flames 3, Avalanche 2, SO

At Denver, Philippe Sauve stopped all three shots in a shootout, helping Calgary beat the team that traded him last summer.

Tony Amonte beat Peter Budaj for the only goal of the shootout. Sauve stopped an impressive group — Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk and, after Amonte's score, Alex Tanguay to preserve the victory.

Making a spot start in place of Miikka Kiprusoff, Sauve stopped 33 shots to help the Flames win in their first time back on the ice since having an eight-game winning streak snapped last Friday by Chicago.

Budaj, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 in shootouts this season.