Justin Holl takes out Mitch Marner with knee-on-knee hit during extended offensive attack by Leafs
May 14th, 2022. Leafs Vs Lightning. Game 7. Midway through the second period, the Leafs are down 1-0. John Tavares circles the zone, finds some space in the slot and fires home the tying goal past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Leafs celebrate, but the referee is waving his arms. What should have been a massive goal was called off because of an apparent pick from Justin Holl, resulting in a 2 minute interference penalty. Holl tried to plead his case, claiming the collision was accidental, but to no avail. The Leafs would go on to lose the game 2-1.
Fast forward to Monday night. The Leafs were enjoying an absolutely dominant stretch of play, hemming the Islanders in in their own zone for well over a minute and a half. Mitch Marner was flying around the Islanders zone, creating chances and retrieving the puck at will. As he turned in the corner to circle back towards the slot, he was taken clean off his feet by what looked like a questionable hit. There was no penalty on the play, however, because the player that hit Marner was none other than Justin Holl.
If anyone had ever doubted the collision with Cirelli in Game 7 being accidental, they won't now. It seems the Leafs defender is simply accident prone.
Now, in Holl's defence, he was having an excellent shift up until this point. He made a few smart plays and helped keep the play alive more than once. Both Holl and Marner were okay and the collision didn't even cost the Leafs possession. It's simply another addition to the ever growing gag reel of hilarious Justin Holl missteps.
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