The NHL's Department of Player Safety Drops the Hammer on Max Domi for Retaliation Elbow

Much to the dismay of Leafs Nation, Max Domi was handed a $5,000 fine on Monday, which is the maximum allowable number according to Player Safety, as indicated in the CBA, for an elbow he laid out against Philadelphia Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway.

In the third period of a 2-2 contest, Hathaway was attempting to make his way out of his own zone and as he was reaching for the puck, when Domi came in to intercept him, throwing an elbow towards Hathaway's head.

It looked like Domi might've missed most of the contact, or at least it wasn't as brutal as some other elbows we've seen around the NHL this year, however, that was as textbook as you can get with the Leafs forward using nothing but his elbow on the play.

He received a 2-minute minor for elbowing, but fortunately for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers power play wasn't able to strike. They eventually forced overtime before Morgan Rielly scored the game-winning goal off a great feed from Auston Matthews.

Hathaway had himself an interesting game last night as he laid out several hard checks, was on the receiving end of some as well, but will be remembered for his fight against Jake McCabe that led to an injury that forced the Leafs defenseman out of the contest.

There has been some speculation that Domi's elbow on Hathaway was intentional, with Domi trying to settle the score for Hathaway taking McCabe out in the first period.

The two teams meet again on Tuesday night in Philadelphia as they look to finish off the home-and-home series. That one will be worth tuning into as it could get pretty chippy.