Montreal Canadiens defenseman Douglas Murray delivered this disgusting hit to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mike Kostka late in the third period of Tuesday night’s game in Tampa.
After Kostka skates the puck into the Lightning’s offensive zone and throws a pass back to a teammate, Murray clearly leaves his feet and targets the head as he extends the elbow on Kostka, dropping him to the ice in brutal fashion. Kostka was clearly shaken up on the play and ended up skating off the ice with the help of some teammates.
Not only was Murray’s hit extremely dirty, it was also extremely dumb. With just a few minutes left in the game, the hit landed Murray a match penalty and gave the Lightning a power play as the Canadiens attempting to close a one goal deficit. Tampa Bay proceeded to score on the ensuing man-advantage to put the game out of reach.
Murray will undoubtedly be hearing from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety as a result of this awful hit and will most likely wind up having to sit several games down the regular season’s home stretch. The suspension will be well-deserved, especially if Kostka suffered a serious head injury. Let’s hope not.
[Fox Sports]
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