A controversial collision leaves the captain bloodied and fuming. Did the officials get it right or not?
The Ottawa Senators returned from the Olympic break on Thursday night with a 2-1 overtime home loss to the Detroit Red Wings. It was the first game back in Ottawa for Sens captain Brady Tkachuk after being part of Team USA's gold medal win in Milan on Sunday, and Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson had a rather rude welcome for him.
In the second period, Sens winger Ridly Greig cleared the defensive zone by lobbing a backhand into the neutral zone. Tkachuk was skating forward, looking back for a possible pass from Greig, while Edvinsson was standing guard at the blue line. With Greig on his backhand, he was hoping to keep the puck in.
Then they collided.
Tkachuk had no idea the 6-foot-6 Edvinsson was there, and Tkachuk's stick went up into his own face, cutting his nose.
Dylan Cozens stepped up in Tkachuk's defense, dropping the gloves with Edvinsson right after the collision, while Tkachuk was given a ten-minute misconduct. After losing the fight, Cozens got a roughing penalty for starting it, offsetting the original interference penalty, and Sens fans were not pleased that the club didn't get a power play out of it.
Tkachuk and Edvinsson then stood in the penalty box yelling at each other for a while.
Here's how the Sens captain saw it:
"Yeah, I mean, I just saw Rids flip the puck and then next thing you know, I saw (Edvinsson's) shoulder kind of go down," Tkachuk told the media after the game. "And I mean, I obviously didn't see him coming, so my stick just hit me right in the face, and yeah, just didn't see him and it just felt like he lowered his shoulder (into me)."
Here's how Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin saw it:
"(Edvinsson) stood up for himself," Larkin told the media. "I think they just collided and he answered the bell. And good on him."
As a sidebar, Larkin said he was thrilled to have Edvinsson back. He hadn't played due to injury since January 21st. Without him, they had lost 4 of their last 5 games. With him, the Wings have now won 8 of their last 9.
During his heated discussion with Tkachuk in the penalty box, Edvinsson appeared to tell Tkachuk, "You skated into me!"
So who's right and who's wrong? Should the Senators have had a power play, or did the referees get it right? Let us know in the comments below.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published by The Hockey News. More headlines here:
Team USA Players Shine As Sens Fall Farther Out Of Playoff Race
Tkachuk Fields Questions on USA Celebrations and Desire To Remain In Ottawa
20 Years Later: The Rise And Fall Of One Of The Greatest Teams In Senators History
Only Four Senators Are Signed Through The 2030 Olympics, Will They All Be In France?Senators Goalie Prospect Thriving After Trade To QMJHL's Top-Ranked Club