Islanders angry as NHL shrugs at John Tavares hit
Sunday came and went without the NHL issuing any further discipline to Bruins forward Brad Marchand for his high hit on John Tavares on Saturday night.
Marchand was assessed a five-minute major penalty for the hit, after taking a direct route to Tavares and leveling him to the ice with his shoulder, but will not face any other repercussions from the NHL’s department of player safety.
Tavares said Monday he wasn’t worried about the lack of punishment, leaving it simply as, “the video speaks for itself.”
Head coach Doug Weight’s reaction was more pointed.
“Things are targeted, things happen spontaneously,” Weight said Monday. “But to me, the ones that are premeditated, it’s unfortunate when we only look at results. So if Johnny lies there and he is hurt, there’d probably be something done. I don’t know the logic in that.”
That wasn’t the only chippy play of the game. David Backes was later ejected in the third period for head-butting Andrew Ladd, but the department of player safety has not announced any fallout from that hit, either, as the Bruins appeared to get away relatively scot-free on both accounts.