Leafs star freaks out and cross checks player in the face after scoring cocky empty net goal

In the dying five seconds of tonight's Battle of Ontario between the Leafs and Senators, the Leafs were down by one goal and pressing for the tie. The puck came loose for the Senators forward Ridly Greig to have an easy empty net goal, and instead he decided to show-boat and take a full slap shot inches from the net. That didn't sit well with Leafs' star defenceman Morgan Rielly, who immediately came over and delivered a brutal cross check to Greig's face.

Greig went down on the play for a few moments, and the rest of the players on the ice met together in a scrum. After the play had calmed down, the referees reviewed the play and gave Rielly a game misconduct for charging. It's pretty much a certainty that Rielly will hear from the Department of Player Safety for this, and will likely receive a suspension.




It's a gross act of retaliation after giving up a goal, but also, it's the expected response of prideful and highly competitive hockey players when they get taunted with a cocky, classless, and disrespectful empty net goal like Greig did. Greig knew that what he did was a show-off move, and he paid a price for it.

Using David Perron's recent example of a retaliatory violent cross check for an event on the ice, it's possible that Rielly could be suspended up to six games, despite the fact he has a long career with no history.