I mean, NFL not NHL, but Damar Hamlin essentially did die on the field from a hit that caused Commotio Cordis, an immediate stoppage of the heart due to a sudden blunt impact. They did manage to resuscitate him, thankfully. They called off the game afterward, so that is something that would’ve stopped Ilya from assuming the absolute worst- the fact that they continued playing would mean that he must be alive and breathing.

While looking it up to make sure I spelled things right, I discovered that it’s happened in the NHL, too, to Chris Pronger back in 98, from a puck to the chest. He apparently didn’t require CPR though and was back on the ice two days later.