Brendan Shanahan and his staff are going to earn their paychecks this week.
In a week that’s featured plenty of hearings and supplemental discipline from the NHL’s department of player safety, Shanahan and his band of merry men have another incident to take a look at.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin was ejected Thursday night when he delivered a flying elbow to the head of Philadelphia Flyers forward Steve Downie. The hit, which left Downie dazed for a few moments, came late in the second period. Emelin appeared to not only leave his feet for the hit, but the blue liner also moved his arm so that he made contact with Downie’s head. There’s little question the hit’s principle point of contact is the head.
Downie went to the locker room after the play ended, but he did return to the bench for the start of the third period. Emelin was given a five-minute major for elbowing as well as a game misconduct penalty.
See the hit below.
