Tempers flared at the end of Game 4 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers.
In the dying seconds of the contest, Leafs center Max Domi hit Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov into the boards, which sparked a violent scrum. Domi received a major penalty for boarding.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is looking into Domi’s hit, especially because it was delivered very late in the game. He added these “message sending plays” are an area of focus in the collective bargaining agreement.
LeBrun’s predicts Domi won’t receive a suspension, but a fine isn’t out of the question.
Panthers center Sam Bennett and coach Paul Maurice reacted to the hit.
“Trying to take a run at ‘Barky’ at the end there,” Bennett told reporters. “It’s been a physical series, so I expect more of that.”
Added Maurice: “The league looks at those things very closely, especially at that point in the game.”
During the aftermath of the Domi hit, Panthers right winger Matthew Tkachuk appeared to mouth off to the Leafs bench, specifically at Toronto’s leading scorer, William Nylander.
Reporters asked Nylander about this post-game.
“He’ll probably do whatever he can do to get a player off their game,” Nylander said. “Next game’s going to be a fun one.”
The Domi hit was just a snippet of what transpired throughout Game 4. There were plenty of hard hits and penalties during the contest.
It started early in the game when the Maple Leafs handed the Panthers four power-play opportunities in the first period. Florida eventually capitalized on one of them, which was the only goal of the game until the third period.
“We don’t need to take those (penalties),” Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters post-game. “Hookings and interference, we got to be better – we’ll be smarter than that.”
Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson took two minor penalties, including an interference penalty that sent Florida left winger Evan Rodrigues to the dressing room. Maurice said Rodrigues will need further evaluation before determining his status for the next game.
Panthers D-man Dmitry Kulikov also appeared to elbow Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner in the back of the head. There was no penalty on the play.
“To me, the Kulikov hit on Marner was 10 times worse,” Berube said Monday morning.
Despite this being Toronto’s second straight loss of the series, its mindset is the same as it’s been all playoffs.
“(At) 2-2, it’s going to be a long series – that’s our mindset,” Nylander said.
Added Leafs captain Auston Matthews: “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We’re playing the defending Cup champs. They’re a good team. Both teams took care of home ice, so here we are.”
Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
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