Another day and a couple more ugly hits. It's been quite a couple of weeks for the NHL, with all eyes on tonight's Bruins-Penguins game to see if anything happens with Matt Cooke.
Up first from last night, Ducks defenceman James Wisniewski on Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook with what we'll call a flying charge of a head shot. The early word is there'll be a suspension here:
There's a good example of players attempting to police themselves -- Seabrook lays a somewhat questionable and high hit on Corey Perry, which leads to Wisniewski racing in from the blueline and obliterating a player who doesn't have the puck in one of the worst his we've seen this year.
Incredibly, Chicago did not get a power play on the play. And Seabrook is now reportedly nursing a concussion, potentially leaving the 'Hawks without two of their top three blueliners for a while and significantly hurting their Stanley Cup chances.
The other play last night resulted in a five-minute major for boarding, and it's the Devils' Rod Pelley on the Penguins' Alex Goligoski:
I'm surprised that wasn't called hitting from behind and that Pelley wasn't given a game misconduct there, but it is what it is -- an ugly mistake (and a bit of a turn into the boards while he plays the puck for Goligoski). Pelley and his coach admitted as much after.
"It's unfortunate I took a major," Pelley said. "I'm definitely not trying to hit anyone from behind. I'm just trying to play honest. It's going to happen."
With more regularity these days it seems.
HNIC's Elliotte Friedman has more and so does Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.