It’s up to you whether you believe Emil Bemstrom’s hit on Tuukka Rask was on purpose or not, as the outlook from each team, unsurprisingly, seems to be a little different.
Shortly after the opening puck drop in the Boston Bruins’ eventual loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Bemstrom skated through Rask’s crease and his elbow caught the Bruins goalie right in the back of the head. Rask left the game and now is concussed.
Brandon Carlo did push Bemstrom shortly before the Blue Jackets forward hit Rask, but the defenseman asserted after the game his shove was not strong enough to lead to that kind of collision.
So what’s Bemstrom’s side of the story? The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline shared some of what the 20-year-old had to say.
“It wasn’t on purpose, of course,” Bemstrom said. “It’s awful. I don’t want to hurt anyone. That’s not my kind of play. It’s just unlucky.”
After the Bruins saw the replay of the hit during the first intermission, they spent the second period trying to get him to fight, something he was unwilling to do. John Tortorella had an odd response to the situation, while Bruce Cassidy thought it was a clear elbow.
In short, both sides have differing views on how purposeful, or not, the play was.
