Was it high? Was it not? I’m no NHL ref, so I can’t tell you for sure, but this sure did have shades of Scott Stevens’ hit on Eric Lindros during the 1999-2000 Eastern Conference Championship series.
Letang was slapped on the wrist with a 2-minute minor for interference, while the hit saw Johansson leave the game for the remainder of the period. Here’s two more looks in slo-mo.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/727298245324640256
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/727299550554234880
Johansson had clearly gotten rid of the puck by the time of impact, and it’s pretty clear he never saw Letang coming either. Given the 3-game suspension the league leveled on the Caps’ Brooks Orpik for his hit on Olli Maatta last game, it wouldn’t be surprising for the league to come down on Letang, too.
You want to maintain the tenacity that playoff hockey brings, but you also don’t want guys getting hurt when headhunting goes unpunished.
Good to see that Marcus Johansson was back on the bench to start the second period.
[h/t @MyRegularFace]