What happened to the ref in the Leafs game? What we know so far about Chris Rooney's injury

The second period of Sunday night's Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers got off to a scary start for referee Chris Rooney.

Rooney was in the corner when Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola looked to chip the puck past an oncoming forechecker in Mitch Marner. Unfortunately, Mikkola's follow-through caught the veteran official right in the face, immediately sending him to the ice in pain.

There was a large amount of blood at the scene as trainers came over and assisted Rooney off the ice. The 49-year-old did not return for the remainder of the game, as Garrett Rank, who was at the rink on standby, took over in his place.

TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun provided an update on Rooney's status after Game 7 on X (formerly Twitter).

"Update on veteran ref Chris Rooney, who left Game 7 last night in Toronto after taking a stick on a follow-through. Scary incident. Has a black eye but luckily no eye damage. Hopes to be back working later this round. Good news, it wasn’t worse," LeBrun wrote.

Chris Rooney is known as one of the best referees in hockey, having officiated in his 1,500th NHL game in January, becoming the first American to achieve the feat.

The NHL also provided an update on Chris Rooney

While fans were worried about the status of Chris Rooney as Game 7 went on, the NHL came out with an update to ease some of the concern.

Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared what the NHL had to provide during the second intermission on Sunday night on X.

"NHL sent out an update that Chris Rooney received stitches for a cut above his eye — not in it, thankfully — and is doing well," Friedman wrote.

It certainly does sound like he avoided the worst possible outcome. The hockey world is hoping that Rooney will have a speedy recovery and potentially make a return to the ice at some point during Round 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The third round begins with Game 1 between the Panthers and Hurricanes on Tuesday night in Carolina. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

Meanwhile, Game 1 between the Oilers and Stars goes down in Dallas on Wednesday night. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at American Airlines Center.