Nikita Kucherov delivers dirty hit from behind on Justin Holl; officials make brutal decision on the play
Is it really a Leafs/Lightning game if the officials don't make some questionable decisions? The question has to be asked...
During the second period of Saturday's Leafs/Lightning game in Tampa, a puck was popped up high into the air behind the Leafs' net. While a crowd of players stood and waited for the puck to drop, Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov came flying in from behind Justin Holl and nailed him right in the numbers, sending him crashing into the boards head-first. Here's a look at the play.
The officials did call a minor penalty on Kucherov for interference, but it probably should have been a 5-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct, given how dangerous the play was and how far away from the boards Holl was standing at the time.
What's worse in all of this is that Kucherov scored the game-tying PP goal in the 3rd period and likely should not even have been in the game at that point. He also drew a questionable penalty from Timothy Liljegren that resulted in the 3-2 goal for Tampa.
It will be interesting to see whether or not the league takes a look at this one. There have been a handful of suspensions handed out this season for similar hits - but with Nikita Kucherov being a star player and with the infraction occurring against the Leafs, I can assume we'll see him get off with a fine or nothing at all.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 3 | 746 ANSWERS Nikita Kucherov delivers dirty hit from behind on Justin Holl; officials make brutal decision on the play Does Kucherov deserve a suspension for his hit from behind on Justin Holl? | ||
| Yes | 677 | 90.8 % |
| No | 69 | 9.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
