Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk has reportedly avoided supplemental discipline for a late hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel during Game 3 of their series on Saturday afternoon.
Tkachuk was given a five-minute major for interference on the play, but avoided a disciplinary hearing that could have resulted in a suspension for Game 4 of the series on Monday night.
That is going to be a controversial ruling because the NHL previously suspended Lightning forward Brandon Hagel for Game 3 of the series after he, too, was assessed a five-minute major penalty for interference on Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov late in Game 2.
That would seem to have set a standard and precedent for the series on what the NHL is going to be looking for and punishing.
But that is not at all the case.
The argument from the NHL’s side is that Hagel’s hit was more violent and included contact to Barkov’s head, while Barkov never had possession of the puck prior to being hit by Hagel.
In the case of the Tkachuk-Guentzel play, Guentzel just had possession of the puck, while there wasn’t any contact with the head on Tkachuk’s part.
The argument, however, does not really make much sense. The issue with both hits was not necessarily any incidental head contact that may have happened (though it was significant with Hagel and Barkov), but the lateness of them.
The argument about Guentzel having previously touched the puck is, quite frankly, nonsensical.
He did touch the puck, yes. And then he got rid of it long before he was hit. Meaning he was no longer in possession of it, and no longer eligible to be hit.
This was not an example of a player “finishing their check.”
If a defending player initiate a body check, and then the puck carrier gets rid of the puck either by pass or shot, that defender is allowed to complete the process of the check they already initiated. That is not what happened here. Guentzel passed the puck to a teammate, and only then did Tkachuk go out of his way to change directions and deliver a crushing open-ice hit on an unsuspecting and defenseless player.
That is a problem.
Even though there was no contact from Tkachuk to Guentzel’s head, Guentzel’s head still nearly hit the ice as a result of the hit which could have had even more damaging results.
There is also the timing and context of the play.
This was not some random open-ice hit in the middle of the game.
The Lightning had taken full control of the game and were about to score into an empty net with five minutes to play in regulation. Tkachuk knew that the play was going to be a goal. He knew the game was over. And he knew exactly what he was doing. He saw an opportunity to deliver a blindside hit on an opponent to try and send a message. He took it. That should be the sort of thing the NHL is looking to eliminate if it is serious about player safety, because it is not within the context of the game or trying to prevent a goal. It is just about inflicting pain.
The lack of a suspension is probably going to make Tkachuk a major target going into Game 4, which could take an already physical and intense series up to another level. Maybe that is what the NHL wants.
