Huberdeau ejected for brutal hit from behind that leaves Jackets forward bloodied

In the third period of last night's game between Calgary and Columbus, the Flames fell behind and the game began to get heated. Late in the third, Jonathan Huberdeau ran Jack Roslovic into the boards with force, which caused Roslovic to leave the game with blood all over his face.

Huberdeau isn't known to throw a dirty hit, or really any hits at all. Even in this situation, Huberdeau doesn't throw an egregious hit. There's barely any force, and Roslovic doesn't put himself in good position to take a hit. Roslovic completely turns his back and doesn't try to brace for contact. When he goes into the boards, it seems he takes most of the contact from his visor clipping the boards. Here's a longer look at the incident.




It's unlikely Huberdeau will see any supplemental discipline for this hit, but it again contributes to a growing problem of players putting themselves in vulnerable positions for hits, and not protecting themselves from contact. Even if hitting and fighting in hockey is diminishing, players still need to be able to protect themselves from contact.