Draisaitl scores then throws a dirty slash that goes unpunished; Player Safety didn't do its job
Maybe Jim Matheson had a point when he accused Leon Draisaitl of being ''pissy''. Maybe it's because of the Edmonton media. Maybe it's that the Leafs get so much more coverage. Maybe he realized that both Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews are better hockey players than he is. Who knows really, but Leon Draisaitl was definitely pissy about something during Edmonton's Game 1 loss to the LA Kings Monday Night.
With the Oilers down 3-2 in the second period, the Kings made a grave error. They took a penalty against the power play merchants themselves. McDavid and Draisaitl didn't waste much time in finding an open shot, which Draissaitl buried. You'd think after scoring the tying goal in a hotly contested playoff game would make a guy happy. Evidently, that wasn't the case. Draisaitl left the celebrations to deliver a brutal 2 hand slash to the back of King's defenseman and former Leafs draft pick Sean Durzi's leg. There was no call on the play, and the broadcast cut to the replay before it happened.
Luckily, a replay of the slash was shown. That's one nasty chop!
The Department of Player Safety was busy this morning handing out a handful of fines to players who crossed the line with their play. Pat Maroon, Corey Perry, Jared Spurgeon and Wayne Simmonds all had their wallets hit. Somehow, Draisaitl escaped the dreaded $5000 fine, or even a 2 minute penalty for that matter.
The fact of the matter is that, no matter how busy Player Safety was, it shouldn't absolve George Parros and company of criticism for not adequately doing their jobs. What, exactly, was Draisaitl doing here, if not attempting to injure?
| POLL | ||
MAI 4 | 186 ANSWERS Draisaitl scores then throws a dirty slash that goes unpunished; Player Safety didn't do its job Should Player Safety have taken action against Draisaitl for this play? | ||
| Yes | 109 | 58.6 % |
| No | 23 | 12.4 % |
| Maybe a fine | 37 | 19.9 % |
| Supsension for sure | 17 | 9.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
