Scary scene in Nashville: Tommy Novak collides with teammate Colton Sissons and nearly gets knocked out
Tommy Novak collided with his Nashville Predators teammate Colton Sissons during the game against the Kings, and he was close to being knocked unconscious.
The Nashville Predators played the LA Kings on Monday night in a game that took a weird turn for forward Tommy Novak when he found himself on the wrong end of a hit, surprisingly, from his teammate. What started out as quite a normal effort to win control of the puck quickly turned into something that was, in large part, bizarre. Few could have guessed that a friendly-fire collision would close with one of their own down on the ice.
The play came with the Predators' Colton Sissons, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound battler, involved in what many are describing as a "freak play." With Novak skating forward with his head down and never seeing Sissons coming, he met hard with his teammate.
The accidental contact made Sissons' shoulder hit Novak's head straight, sending the crowd into instant gasps and Novak dazed on the ice almost immediately. The bizarre incident immediately posed the question of how teammates could find themselves in such bone-jarring contact. Though hockey is a physical game, this play was anything but ordinary. Both players had been focused on gaining possession of the puck and were moving aggressively toward it with full intensity.
Neither was expecting the other's path, however, and Sissons' shoulder caught Novak in a way that sent him to the ice for an uncomfortable amount of time. It was an awkward minute or so for those watching inside the arena, waiting and wondering if Novak would get up. Finally, Novak managed to pick himself up, which relieved fans but also set off a wave of reaction on social media. On the social media platform X, fans were making light comments about the issue, pointing out how rare and absurd the collision was. The situation was serious, but the humor offered some relief, how fans can find levity in these tense moments.
That kind of bone-jarring collision between teammates is almost unheard of in the NHL, where players know how to skate around each other in professional fashion. Although it was a tough night for Novak, and somewhat of a surprise to fans, we would like to wish the Predators forward a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the ice sooner rather than later.
