Leon Draisaitl’s dangerous hit to the head of Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov knocked out the captain in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, casting a pall over the Panthers’ win and raising questions about Barkov’s availability for the remainder of the series.
With the Panthers leading 2-1 in the third period of an eventual 4-1 win, Draisaitl left his feet to deliver a high check along the boards to Barkov, who was playing a puck in the corner.
Draisaitl was given a two-minute penalty for roughing. The penalty to Barkov was more severe. He missed the remainder of the game, and his resulting injuries might force him to miss additional games in the best-of-seven series, which the Panthers lead 2-0.
Florida can take solace in holding a commanding lead as the series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3 of the series on Thursday. But the focus of the discussion after Game 2 was the status of Barkov — and how to discipline Draisaitl for a clearly illegal hit to an opponent’s head.
“I don’t think there was anything dirty about it,” Draisaitl told reporters after the game. “I don’t know, maybe I got him a little high, but certainly not any intent to injure or anything like that.”
In spite of Draisaitl’s assertion, hits like these routinely draw supplemental discipline from the NHL‘s Department of Player Safety. Checks to the head are routinely met with suspensions regardless of their intent. The fact that Barkov’s head barely moved as he played the puck, and Draisaitl left his head to hit it, could motivate the league to issue a suspension — even to a star player at a critical juncture in the series.
“The league will take a look at it,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “They look at every hit.”
Asked for his thoughts on the hit, Maurice said, “This isn’t the Oprah Winfrey Show. My feelings don’t matter.”
