Pierre Engvall taking heat from Leafs fans for not dropping the gloves with Brandon Hagel in Game 4
Pierre Engvall has been excellent for the Leafs in a depth role this season. Along with David Kampf and Ilya Mikheyev, Engvall has helped form one of the best checking lines in hockey this season, but that shutdown game hasn't stopped him from posting career highs in goals (15), assists (20) and points (35).
In large, Engvall is a squeaky clean player, despite being 6'5 and 215 pounds. While he is hard to muscle off of the puck and he does play in some of the dirtier areas, Engvall is hardly a fighter - something Brandon Hagel found out on Sunday.
During the third period, Hagel and Engvall were jousting a bit in the neutral zone, with Hagel whipping off his gloves and trying to bait Engvall into dropping his. The big Swede ultimately did not oblige him, instead just grinning at him and letting Hagel know that he was not intimidated in the least.
Engvall's reaction has earned him quite a bit of negative attention on social media from Leafs fans who think that Engvall should have obliged Hagel, just to show some emotion in a blowout game.
Obviously, this is completely subjective. Whether you think Engvall was afraid or not is your business. It's your opinion. The fact of the matter is that it made no sense for Engvall to do that in a game that the Leafs had no chance of coming back and winning that late in the game and down by a wide margin.
The way Engvall can really make the Bolts pay is back in Toronto where the Leafs can get the matchups they want. If Engvall can get to work and shut down the opposition while adding some secondary offense and help his team pick up the win, the Leafs will be getting the last laugh.
I'll admit, it would have been nice to see Engvall drop the gloves and go, but to risk an injury like a broken hand at that stage in a runaway game wasn't the right time.
| POLL | ||
MAI 9 | 370 ANSWERS Pierre Engvall taking heat from Leafs fans for not dropping the gloves with Brandon Hagel in Game 4 Do you think Engvall should have dropped the gloves with Hagel at the end of Game 4? | ||
| Definitely | 92 | 24.9 % |
| Absolutely not | 67 | 18.1 % |
| Why risk an injury in a game already lost? | 147 | 39.7 % |
| Don't care, just win | 64 | 17.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
