The Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin hit Washington’s T.J. Oshie in the head with his shoulder. Oshie went to check Malkin, but Malkin beat him to the punch and nailed him with a reverse hit. It was unquestionably a head shot.
Malkin got a major penalty and was ejected. He faces no further discipline.
That’s the right call.
Malkin hit Oshie in the head. Don’t explain. Don’t rationalize. That’s what happened.
If you’re a Penguins fan, you can’t explode in righteous anger when one of your players is victimized but spew excuses when your guy does it.
Malkin committed a misdemeanor, not a felony. He’s not a repeat offender. Malkin is occasionally chippy, but rarely malicious. Oshie didn’t get hurt. The NHL considers that. The referees and NHL got this exactly right.
When you’re on a four-game losing streak and in a 1-1 hockey game, you can’t do what Malkin did. It was reckless. Watch the hit and listen to what the announcers say: