Late in the 1st period, with Boston down 2-0, Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos caught Bruins forward Rick Nash in the head with a clear elbow. Despite the obvious hit to a player’s head, Stamkos was only assessed a minor penalty, which the Bruins scored on to cut the lead to one goal. The hit can be seen below for reference.
Stamkos with the hit to the head on Rick Nash, and hell sit for less than two minutes thanks to David Pastrnakhttps://t.co/xUCYXFfbKJ
— StanleyCup ofChowder (@cupofchowdah) May 4, 2018
There are a few things to make note of on the play here, first is that Stamkos was late into the play, but was clearly making a play on the puck and his elbow MAY have been unintentional. Secondly, Rick Nash is hunched over attempting to play the puck himself, however his position stays consistent up until the elbow from Stamkos.
While it was a clear elbow, directly to Nash’s helmet, it’s likely the refs saw it as incidental instead of intentional. With all the focus on head shots in recent days and months, I’d expect the hit to be reviewed, however I don’t believe any discipline will be forthcoming for the reasons listed above. Feel free to share your thoughts in the poll below, as well as in the comments.