"Last Wednesday's morning skate at Pepsi Center in Denver seemed as innocuous as any other game-day loosening-up session for the Panthers players as coach Kevin Dineen put them through drills.

But for forward Tomas Fleischmann it wasn't routine.

In fact, nothing will ever be routine again for Fleischmann, who almost a year to the day earlier came off that ice after a morning skate with his Colorado Avalance teammates and couldn't catch his breath.

The thin air of Colorado had triggered a recurring of his blood-clotting issues, only this was far more serious as the clots traveled to both lungs."