[Matt]

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik required lifesaving surgery after severing his carotid artery, his agent told The Associated Press on Monday.

Zednik was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Buffalo General Hospital, and will continue to be evaluated through the day, attending surgeon Sonya Noor said in a statement released by the hospital.

Zednik had surgery Sunday night after losing a significant amount of blood during the game at Buffalo earlier in the day, agent David Schatia said.

Zednik was sliced across the right side of the throat by teammate Olli Jokinen's skate in a frightening accident midway through the third period of Buffalo's 5-3 victory.

Canada's Sportsnet cable-TV network reported on its Web site that the skate blade just missed cutting the jugular vein.

The Panthers returned home to South Florida following the game.

Buffalo defenseman Jaroslav Spacek skates past a trail of blood left when Florida's Richard Zednik hurried off the ice Sunday in Buffalo, N.Y.

Joining Zednik at the hospital was his wife, Jessica, and Karen Cohen, wife of Alan Cohen, who is the Panthers' general partner, chairman of the board and CEO, hospital spokesman Mike Hughes said in a release. The two arrived by charter flight late Sunday night.

"The entire Panthers organization wish to extend their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the medical staff at Buffalo General Hospital, the Buffalo Sabres organization, the HSBC Arena staff and to the Panthers and Sabres fans who have expressed their thoughts and concerns," Panthers assistant general manager Randy Sexton said.

Sexton and Panthers assistant trainer Dave Zenobi stayed overnight with Zednik at the hospital.

Zednik was circling the net behind the play and skating into the corner when Jokinen was upended by Sabres forward Clarke MacArthur. Jokinen fell headfirst to the ice, and his right leg and skate flew up and struck Zednik directly on the side of the neck.

Clutching his neck, Zednik left a trail of blood as he somehow raced three-quarters the length of the ice to the Panthers bench. He nearly fell into the arms of Zenobi, who immediately placed a towel on the player's throat. With the help of defenseman Jassen Cullimore, Zednik was escorted up the tunnel behind the bench and loaded into an ambulance.

Difficult Call

Deciding whether or not to continue to play after Richard Zednik's gruesome injury certainly was not easy. ESPN.com's E.J. Hradek writes that while there may be a little precedent here, it might not apply. Blog Insider

Zednik, a 12-year veteran, is in his first season with the Panthers.

When Zednik was with Montreal he sustained a severe concussion, broken nose, bruised throat and cut eyelid following a vicious blow to the face by Boston's Kyle McLaren during the 2002 playoffs.

Zednik was knocked cold, had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher and spent the night in intensive care.

McLaren was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, missing the final two games of the series, which Montreal won in six games.

Zednik returned the following season to score a career-high 31 goals and match a career high with 50 points.

He signed with the Panthers as a free agent last summer. After a two-month slump, he has been playing well. He entered the game on a four-game point streak, in which he had six goals and three assists, giving him 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 54 games this season.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYue5Git1-A

*Warning* Pretty graphic video, if you can't see blood I wouldn't suggest you watch. At 1:34 and 2:07 you can actually see the blood squirt from his neck on to the ice. For those that don't know anatomy the carotid artery is the 2nd major artery in the body behind the femoral artery that runs down your thigh. If he didn't immediately skate to his bench he might have died, if he collapsed it might have taken an additional 2 or so minutes to get him off the ice and to the locker rooms which with a major artery like that is all it takes.

Wow.