John-Michael Liles To Face Hearing For Hit To Nikita Kucherov
Bruins D John-Michael Liles will face a hearing tomorrow with the NHL Department of Player Safety after his questionable elbow to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning F Nikita Kucherov.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had their hands full last night as they took on the Boston Bruins in their fourth and final meeting of the regular season. While the game may not have ended the way the Lightning would have hoped, it definitely wasn’t for a lack of trying. Unfortunately, the Lightning’s 1-0 overtime loss wasn’t the only thing weighing heavily on the minds of Tampa Bay Lightning fans.
In the final minutes of the first period, the Tampa Bay Lightning had what could easily be described as the breathtakingly scary moment on the ice involving one of the Lightning’s key offensive players, Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov. As most of you know by now, Kucherov is the team’s leading points scorer and the absolute last person you want on the sidelines at this point in the season.
As we mentioned before, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins were in the final moments of the first period at the Amalie Arena here in the Sunshine State. Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov had control of the puck just behind the Lightning net and Lightning netminder Ben Bishop. After deciding on his route into the neutral zone, Nesterov would hand the puck off to Nikita Kucherov.
This is where things went from bad to worse.
Nikita Kucherov had Bruins center Noel Acciari hot on his tail as he progressed towards the offensive zone. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Bruins defenseman John-Michael Liles came in hard with an elbow to Kucherov’s head. Needless to say, Kucherov hit the ice like a ton of bricks. With his jersey covered with snow from the ice, Kucherov remained on his hands and knees with his hand to his head.
It wasn’t long before Tampa Bay Lightning Head Athletic Trainer Tom Mulligan rushed out to the ice to tend to Kucherov. Eventually, Kucherov was able to make it off the ice under his own volition; however, he would not return to the ice for the remainder of the first period.
The good news for the Tampa Bay Lightning is that Kucherov did not seem to sustain any severe injury from the play as he was able to rejoin the team on the Lightning bench at the start of the second period. While Kucherov may not have sustained an injury from Liles’ careless hit, it was still an incredibly dangerous move that could have caused a potentially career-ending injury for Kucherov.
The thing that is most disturbing about this whole ordeal is if you were watching last night’s game on NESN, the broadcasters calling the game seem to search for every which way possible this incident could be Nikita Kucherov’s fault and all but justify the actions of John-Michael Liles. At least for last night, they would have been right as the referees saw no reason to call a penalty on the play.
Thankfully, the powers that be have seen things a little differently. According to the NHL Department of Player Safety, Boston Bruins defenseman John-Michael Liles will face a hearing tomorrow for his illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov.
There are a number of ways this one could end. Liles may end up being suspended for an undetermined amount of games and faces a financial penalty. He could also get away with not missing any games, but assessing a higher financial penalty. The least likely option is he may walk out of this hearing free and clear.
No matter what the outcome, at least we can all have faith the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety is watching out for the players and will not tolerate this kind of behavior on the ice. As of this particular point and time, we will have to wait until tomorrow to see how this one pans out.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Lose Atlantic Division Showdown in OT
What are your thoughts on John-Michael Liles’ elbow to the head of Nikita Kucherov? Do you think Liles will miss games, or will he simply face a financial penalty? Let us know what you think in the comments below.