Justin Holl may have taken the dumbest penalty in Maple Leafs history last night
As a Leafs fan for nearly 30 years, I've seen some truly stupid penalties. I can't think of one in those 30 years worse than Tuesday night's monumental blunder by Justin Holl. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've seen anyone take one this dumb in the entire NHL during that time. Well maybe Kasperi Kapanen - and Max Domi can attest to that.
Let's set the stage here. The Leafs were in Dallas for a date with the Stars on Tuesday. They were being heavily out-chanced, but were holding a 3-0 lead late in the second period. Mark Giordano's clearing attempt went over the glass and put the Leafs down a man for the 6th time in the game. What happened next was equal parts hilarious, mind-boggling and rage-inducing.
Less than 30 seconds into the Dallas power play, Justin Holl's clearing attempt bounced back to him. He caught the puck in his glove and threw the puck - yes, THREW the puck - back up the boards. The play was immediately called and the Leafs were forced to kill off over 90 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey.
One angle isn't enough for this.
The good news is, the trio of Mitch Marner, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, as well as goaltender Matt Murray were nothing short of heroic on the PK. Even after Marner's stick was snapped by a blocked shot, the three Leafs blocked shots and passes while Murray stopped every shot that came his way. One thing is for sure, Marner, Sandin, Liljegren and Murray won't be buying their own dinner or drinks for the next few days!
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 7 | 194 ANSWERS Justin Holl may have taken the dumbest penalty in Maple Leafs history last night Have you seen a Leaf take a dumber penalty than this Justin Holl penalty? | ||
| Yes | 70 | 36.1 % |
| No | 124 | 63.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
