Nikita Kucherov lands awkward hit on Aleksander Barkov, leaving him shaken up
The Tampa Bay Lightning barely came out on top with a 3-2 OT win against the Florida Panthers last night in the season's first Battle of Florida. As expected, some players finished the game in much rougher condition than they started in.
The hit above, initiated by Nikita Kucherov, had Aleksander Barkov heading to the dressing room right after. Although it seems like it could have been a routine clean hit, the way Kucherov finished Barkov along the boards left him shaken up and temporarily leaving the game. Fortunately, he did return to the bench soon after.
Tensions stayed high for the remainder of the game, with Kucherov and Matthew Tkachuk getting into an altercation. Victor Hedman got involved in defending his teammate, sending him to the penalty box along with Tkachuk.
If this was just round one of the Battle of Florida this season, I think it'll be interesting to see how the rest go.
| POLL | ||
22 OCTOBRE | 70 ANSWERS Nikita Kucherov lands awkward hit on Aleksander Barkov, leaving him shaken up Was Kucherov's hit on Barkov clean or dirty? | ||
| Dirty | 43 | 61.4 % |
| Clean | 27 | 38.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
Latest 10 stories
