Kane catches Matthew Tkachuk with uncalled punch to face in front of referee
Last night's game one of the Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers and Panthers wasn't overly physical, but Evander Kane landed one of the most effective cheap shots of the game.
While skating towards the bench, Evander Kane stuck out a forearm shiver that connected directly with Tkachuk's face. Tkachuk wobbled and fell down to the ice, but was okay to get up immediately.
The play unfolded literally feet away from a referee who was staring at the entire play, and somehow Kane got away with it scot free. Tkachuk has a reputation for greasy plays on the ice which may have impacted the lack of penalty call, but it's not like Evander Kane hasn't thrown a dirty hit before either.
Maybe the reasoning for the punch was a little rivalry holdover from Tkachuk's days with the Calgary Flames. One thing is for sure, this won't be the last time these two bump heads during this series.
Adam Henrique also caught Oliver Ekman-Larsson with a hard hit from behind, sending him face-first into the boards with force. Ekman-Larsson had to leave the game for a moment to repair a cut on his face. Again shockingly, the Oilers didn't receive a penalty on the play.
Heading into this series, many were concerned that the Oilers wouldn't be able to meet the physicality of the Florida Panthers. The Oilers took the fight to the Panthers last night, and still ended up with one more powerplay than the Panthers. The Oilers dominated the Panthers all over the ice last night, but unfortunately were stonewalled by Sergei Bobrovsky. If they keep up this play and this physicality, the Oilers are surely getting back into this series.
| POLL | ||
Do you think this should have been a penalty on Kane for punching Tkachuk? | ||
| Yes, that's a penalty every day | 120 | 31 % |
| No, it's the playoffs, let them go | 251 | 64.9 % |
| See Results | 16 | 4.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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