NHL star Dennis Gilbert lies motionless after hitting his head on the ice in terrifying scenes before needing help from teammates to walk away

Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Gilbert was forced to leave Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators after a collision left him temporarily motionless on the ice.

Late in the third period, Gilbert collected the puck along the boards as Nashville's Phil Tomasino came in from his right.

The awkward blow caused Tomasino's upper body to face Gilbert's while his left leg was placed behind Gilbert's right leg, causing him to lose his balance. Gilbert's skates went airborne before his head and right shoulder crashed onto the ice.

Gilbert was unable to get up immediately as medical staff attended to him. As soon as he stood up, Gilbert was escorted off the ice by his teammates.

Postgame head coach Ryan Huska said that while he had not spoken to the Flames' medical team about the severity of the injury, he assumed Gilbert would be fine.

Gilbert is expected to enter the concussion protocol as his team looks to extend their win streak

The defenseman had to be helped off the ice by his teammates during the Flames' win

“He'll probably just have to go through protocol, I would assume at this point,” Huska said.

Connor Zary, Blake Coleman, Rasmus Andersson and Yegor Sharangovich each had a goal and an assist in the Flames' 6-3 victory.

Nazem Kadri and Noah Hanifin also scored and Dan Vladar made 30 saves in the Flames' third straight win.

“We want to get a little bit of traction by connecting the dots,” Huska said of their performance. 'It's going to be important. That next match will now be the most important match of the year for us.'

Gilbert has one goal and seven points in 27 games for the Flames this season.

Calgary currently sits sixth in the Western Conference with a 17-16-5 record (WL-OTL). The Flames will look to continue their winning streak against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.