All hell breaks loose after Panthers forward gets away with one of the dirtiest hits of the year
Early in the third period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers on Sunday, Blue Jackets defenceman Erik Gudbranson was attempting to retrieve a puck behind his net with Panthers forward Nick Cousins chasing him. Gudbranson reached for the puck to poke it to his defense partner, which put him in a vulnerable position. Cousins opted to follow through and finish his hit anyway and unfortunately caught the back of Gudbranson, sending him face first into the glass.
Gudbranson laid on the ice for a moment before jumping up and going after Cousins immediately, resulting in a pileup behind the Columbus net. Cousins was initially given a major and game misconduct for the hit, but it was reduced to a minor. When it was reduced to a minor Gudbranson could be seen on the Columbus bench saying "I'm going to get him".
A few minutes later after both players came out of the box, Gudbranson certainly got him. With Cousins carrying the puck along the boards entering the Columbus zone, Gudbranson first poked the puck then tackled Cousins to the ice. Gudbranson then unloaded a flurry of punches on Cousins before another pile up ensued.
Gudbranson was assessed 29 minutes in penalties on the play and was ejected from the game. The Panthers went on to win the game 5-2, but it will be interesting to see what sort of supplemental discipline will be handed out to Gudbranson and/or Cousins as a result of these incidents.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 10 | 503 ANSWERS All hell breaks loose after Panthers forward gets away with one of the dirtiest hits of the year Should Cousins have been kicked out of the game for his hit? | ||
| Yes, it was dirty and all numbers | 421 | 83.7 % |
| No, Gudbranson put himself in that position | 82 | 16.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
