“It was the same thing,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said on Thursday. “He’s been monitoring it the whole year and this might have been the first or second time it’s come around, but it’s something he has to deal with and it’s something that obviously we’re aware of.”

Stars players were frantically slapping their sticks and calling for medical attention before the game was stopped.

The NHL has postponed the game. Columbus leads 1-0. The game was halted 6:23 into the first period.

“We provided oxygen for him. We started an IV. We did chest compressions on him and defibrillated him, provided some electricity to bring a rhythm back to his heart, and that was successful with one attempt, which is very reassuring.”

“As soon as we treated him, he regained consciousness. He was alert and awake talking to us after the event and quickly transported to the hospital. At this point, I was able to talk to him in the back of the ambulance, and he was able to tell me where he was and he actually wanted to get back in the game.”

Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley will miss the rest of the season after he collapsed on the bench Monday during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets because of a cardiac event.

Peverley spoke during a news conference Wednesday in Dallas. He read a statement that thanked the Stars, team doctors and his family, and did not take questions.

"They all attended to me once I passed out and they saved my life and I will forever be grateful," Peverley said of the doctors and training staff.

He left the press conference after reading his statement.

Doctors confirmed Peverley's season is over and that he will go to the Cleveland Clinic for a procedure on his heart that had been planned for the offseason. They were not ready to determine whether it's safe for Peverley to resume his hockey career.

Peverley, 31, has been recovering since the cardiac event Monday, which occurred with the Stars trailing 1-0 with 13:37 remaining in the first period. The game was postponed and will be rescheduled.

Peverley, acquired by the Stars from the Boston Bruins on July 4, 2013 as part of a seven-player trade, was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat in training camp. He missed the preseason and the Stars' first game of the regular season but played in the second game Oct. 5.

He played in 60 straight games before sitting out a game at Columbus on March 4 due to the effects of his heart condition. He played in the two games prior to Monday.

Peverley is fourth on the Stars with 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 62 games. Dallas (32-23-10) enters play Wednesday in possession of the second Stanley Cup Playoff wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Like I said a year ago the B's have the record for the longest streak in the NHL and the last years of it were mired in mediocrity, good enough to keep the season ticket holders, good enough to be relevant and make it 1 or 2 rounds but never built to win. It took "the streak" ending and a few years of crap before it got fixed in Boston.

I don't hope Detroit fails, I hope the fans don't get screwed like we did with making the playoffs being some sort of consolation prize to hang your hat on.

Win the cup, everything else is failure.