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Greg WyshynskiESPN
The Tampa Bay Lightning have lost their first two games to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the most shocking development of the Stanley Cup playoffs thus far. Now they might lose star winger Nikita Kucherov to suspension for a boarding penalty in Game 2 on Friday night.
Kucherov was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit on Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara at 15:34 of the third period. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Friday night that he will have a hearing on Saturday.
Kucherov led the NHL in scoring with 128 points, with 41 goals and 87 assists. The favorite to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, he has been held scoreless in the first two games of the series.
After Kucherov tripped Nutivaara, the Blue Jackets defenseman played the puck from his knees. As he did, Kucherov skated over to him and crushed Nutivaara along the boards. A skirmish ensued between the teams.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he didn’t see the hit when he met the media after the game. “I was surprised when he got five, but I haven’t seen it,” Cooper said.
What kind of discipline will Kucherov receive? His hit has been compared to a hit from Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri last postseason that earned him a three-game ban.
The hits might look similar, but keep in mind that Kadri delivered his hit to Bruins forward Tommy Wingels’ back, while Kucherov appeared to get the shoulder. Kadri also charged over to hit him with force, driving his head into the boards. Kadri’s hit was, by comparison, more vicious.
Yet, where the hits are similar is in terms of intent. Kucherov changes the direction of his skating path to deliver this hit to a player in a prone position. He does so at a point in the game when Columbus is ahead comfortably, 4-1, en route to a 5-1 victory and a 2-0 series lead. This is the kind of petulant play that the NHL Department of Player Safety doesn’t look favorably on, no matter the player.
With or without Kucherov, the Lightning are facing a steep climb out of this hole. They entered the playoffs having tied the NHL record for wins in a season with 62.
“The regular season’s different from the playoffs. Things just happen so fast. It’s 0-0 going into Game 1, and then all of a sudden you’re down 0-2 at home, and alarms are going off,” Cooper said. “Have we faced a ton of adversity this year? We probably haven’t. Now we’ve got some adversity. This is a five-alarm fire. Sometimes that’s good. Sometimes you have to go through stuff like this.”