Toronto Maple Leafs: Three Takeaways From Loss To The Canadiens

There were two hits that crossed the line

When two rivals like the Canadians and Maple Leafs get together, there are bound to have some chippiness. However, there were two hits from both teams that could be filed under the dirty hit file.

The first of these hits came in the middle of the third period. That’s when Martin came in late and hit Beaulieu from behind. It was a bonehead decision by him as it sent the Maple Leafs on the penalty kill. Effectively taking away precious minutes off the clock as they were trying to tie the gam and with Price in net, every second is valuable.

Then came the hit by Emelin in the final seconds of the game. As JVR was going for the puck, the Russian defenceman gave a cross-check to the back of his numbers. As a result, it sent  JVR into the boards, which could have ended up a lot worse if he had not been able to brace himself for the after effects of the hit.

Luckily, both players who were on the end of these dirty hits were not seriously injured, but do not be shocked if either of these two gets a call from the league as they could be looking at a fine, with an outside chance of a suspension.