Referee injures defenseman with a brutal hit.

While this was clearly an accidental collision, and referee Tim Peel certainly didn't mean to hurt anyone, this has to be a tough one for Penguin fans to swallow, and any anger they have today is perfectly understandable.

During Sunday's game between the Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes, Peel lost the blade on one of his skates, and as a result fell to the ice. Unfortunately for Penguins defenseman David Warsofsky the fall sent Peel into something that resembles a baseball slide, and the end result was a low bridge hit to the back of Warsofsky's legs sending him spinning through the air.

No word yet on how serious the injury to Warsofsky is at this time, but it did not look good as he required assistance from his teammates to get down the tunnel and back to the locker room.

[pub]