Noah Gregor drills Nikita Zaitsev into the end boards and drops the gloves with Connor Murphy

Gregor's intensity was showcased yet again on Monday night during the first period of the Leafs/Blackhawks game with the 25-year-old winger finishing a check on a falling Blackhawks defenseman and then dropping the gloves with another Hawks blueliner to answer for his crime.

First, let's take a look at the hit. Gregor had committed to the hit when Zaitsev was still eligible to be hit, so in that sense, Gregor did nothing wrong. However, unfortunately, Zaitsev had toe-picked and was falling forward at the moment of contact. As a result, his head had hit the glass hard and left him shaken up on the ice and in need of some attention.

Naturally, the Hawks were not impressed with the hit and a number of players both on the ice and on the bench wanted a piece of Gregor after seeing Zaitsev in some distress. Connor Murphy was the player who stepped up to try to hold Gregor accountable, challenging the Leafs winger to a scrap. Gregor was happy to oblige and seemed to get the better of the exchange.

There was no penalty on the original hit and I doubt there will be any supplemental discipline either, as Zaitsev had been in the process of falling as the hit was being delivered, which is why the otherwise routine hit resulted in an unfortunate injury.