Winnipeg is up in arms because Tom Sestito broke Toby Enstrom’s face. That’s too bad.
When the Jets and Penguins clashed Feb. 16 at PPG Paints Arena, the Jets played a borderline style, injuring two Penguins and making the Pens feel like they needed Sestito's toughness last night. Evgeni Malkin’s questionable hit on Blake Wheeler in last month’s game duly noted, what the Jets initiated then was the trigger for Sestito’s hit on Enstrom.
The Jets play dirty. So they deserve zero sympathy if one of their players gets hurt when a foe retaliates.
Sestito’s check looked more clumsy than vicious. Enstrom tried what many do: He saw Sestito coming, then turned to show his numbers and draw a penalty. Enstrom drew a penalty, all right. And got his grill smashed in, too.
Dumb move by Sestito. Not because Enstrom got hurt. But because Sestito was there to protect his teammates, and his recklessness only allowed him to do so for 13 minutes and 10 seconds. That said, Sestito injured a pretty good player to earn his ejection. Not a bad trade for the Penguins.