Jeremy Roenick ‘Disgusted’ By Flyers Forward’s ‘Inexcusable’ Hit

The Philadelphia Flyers’ ugly 6-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night nearly took an even uglier turn midway though the third period.

With Philadelphia trailing the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps 4-1, Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was handed a five-minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct after he leveled Washington defenseman Dimitry Orlov into the end boards.

Thankfully, Orlov was not seriously injured on the play, and the consensus seemed to be that Bellemare’s check was reckless but not malicious. But that didn’t stop former Flyers star-turned-analyst Jeremy Roenick from going off on the 31-year-old Frenchman after the game.

“This disgusts me in the biggest way,” Roenick said during NBC Sports Network’s postgame show, via The Washington Post. “You can see (Orlov’s) numbers. You know what was coming. It’s a race for the puck, and Bellemare forcefully pushes Orlov into the boards. … I’m telling you, this was as close as I have seen to somebody possibly breaking his neck. This is totally inexcusable. This is a lack of respect for a player’s safety, it’s a lack of respect for a player in general.

“And I hope — I hope — that the National Hockey League suspends him and keeps him out the rest of the playoffs. Because we cannot have this. I’ve said it time and time again. The lack of respect of guys hitting people from behind three feet from the boards, someone is gonna break their neck one day and then they’ll make changes. … Inexcusable.”

Monday’s win gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Washington will go for a sweep Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.