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The NHL will not have a hearing for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brian Boyle for his hit on Thomas Hickey. The questionable hit led to Boyle scoring the overtime winner seconds later while Hickey laid on the ice.
After reviewing the hit from multiple angles several times, the hit is clearly debatable. The 6'7" Boyle hit on 6'0" Hickey was also late and at least an interference penalty should have been call.
Some even said that Hickey embellished the hit. SiriusXM NHL Network Radio's Stellick and Simmer claimed that if he didn't embellish it he would have been able to get back into the play.
Jack Capuano was clearly frustrated by the non call.
“It’s a direct shot to the head, I mean, probably going to get suspended a game. That’s what I mean. The whole game, it shouldn’t come down to that. [Referee] is standing right there. I’ve watched it numerous times now. Those are the types of hits that we’re trying to eliminate from our game.
The key thing that Capuano said right there was that referee Brad Watson has a clear view of the hit. Capuano, this morning, offered no update on Hickey, only that he will see the team doctor later today.
Could the non call be consider justice for the non call on Matt Martin in Game 6 against the Panthers? The referees are not thinking about games from past series. I'm sure non Islanders fans think it's justice.
There will not be a hearing for Hickey on his massive hit on Jonathan Drouin, who missed almost a full period as a result. Drouin returned for the third.
All of that being said, the game should never have reached overtime. The Islanders blew three 1-goal leads during the game. When the Lightning pulled goalie Ben Bishop, they kept the play in the Isles zone pretty much the entire time before Drouin fed Nikita Kucherov to tied the game with 38 seconds left. Capuano has press all of the right buttons for the past month. His decision of putting his top line out there with under a minute was a first guess.
Last night's loss was the 11th time that the Isles lost a Game 3 with the series tied 1-1, the last being back in 2013 against the Penguins. New York has only won 2 of those 10 series.
The team is off today and will practice tomorrow.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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