I would be incredibly surprised if it were intentional. Every single player there knows exactly what doing that would mean.
Freak accidents happen, especially in hockey. Malarchuk had his throat slashed by a skate, Pronger took a slapshot to the chest that stopped his heart, and Peverley and Bouwmeester have randomly collapsed on the bench. Somehow all of those managed to survive, it's honestly a miracle it doesn't happen more often.