Isles' Ross Johnston punches Wayne Simmonds in the back of the head after fight he had already lost
Something that flew under the radar in the Leafs' 4-2 win over the New York Islanders on Sunday was Isles forward Ross Johnston taking a swing at an already downed Wayne Simmonds, cracking him in the back of the head as the officials were stepping in to break up the scuffle.
The fight ensued after Johnston clipped Mark Giordano with a huge hit that drew the attention of Simmonds. The two tough guys whipped off the gloves, but the tilt was a brief one, as the bigger, stronger Johnston dropped Simmonds early in the scrap.
Simmonds was not happy with Johnston, who went against a part of the code. You simply don't hit a guy who is already downed. Simmonds made sure Johnston knew he had crossed a line as the two skated across to their respective penalty boxes to serve their 5-minute majors.
you don't often see a player punch someone after they're already down, save maybe for the rare occurrence when the offender is retaliating for a dirty hit causing injury.
Thankfully, Giordano was fine after taking the hit, and the Leafs went on to mathematically eliminate the Isles from contention. So it looks as though Simmonds got the last laugh as he preps for the playoffs while Johnston prepares for the golf course.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 174 ANSWERS Isles' Ross Johnston punches Wayne Simmonds in the back of the head after fight he had already lost What did you think of Johnston's cowardly act against a downed Simmonds? | ||
| It wasn't as bad as it looked | 70 | 40.2 % |
| Trash play | 55 | 31.6 % |
| Goes against the code | 39 | 22.4 % |
| Don't care | 10 | 5.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
