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Midway through a power play late in the first period of Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov was rocked by B’s defenseman John-Michael Liles’ elbow at the Boston blue line. Denied entry into the zone, and down in a heap in the Boston end, Liles was told on Thursday morning that he will not face any supplemental discipline from the league.
But if you ignore the aftermath, history, and everything else, was this a suspendable hit on its own? At first glance, it’s quite clear that Liles’ elbow smashes Kucherov right upside the head, so it’s an easy yes. Then you see the push that shoves Kucherov a bit lower and into prime contact with Liles. So, with that comes a grey area, and with that, comes an uncertainty, especially for a guy without a history.
What’s more shocking about this entire play, in my opinion anyways, is the fact that the referees completely missed the undoubtedly obvious call on the ice. (It was at least a minor.)
“I think, surprise or not, it’s what the League does and you see those things happen. You just wait and see,… B’s coach Claude Julien said of the Liles suspension/non-suspension situation. “You know it really is my opinion that it wasn’t a suspendable play, but I’m not the one making those decisions.…
Kucherov, among the initial 16 named to Team Russia’s World Cup of Hockey roster, is second among Lightning players in goals (25) and assists (29), and first in points (54).
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.