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NHL fans have expressed their outrage on social media following Leon Draisaitl's explanation of his high hit on Aleksander Barkov during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Edmonton Oilers star claimed that he had no intention of injuring the Florida Panthers captain.
“I am not a player that enjoys that part of the game — injuring other players or anything like that. I caught him in an unfortunate spot,” Draisaitl said.
However, many fans remain unconvinced by Leon Draisaitl's defense. They were quick to react on social media, unimpressed with Draisaitl's justification. One fan said:
"That's not gonna save him tonight," suggesting the explanation won't prevent supplemental discipline from the league."
Another fan said:
"What a loser."
"Yeah. And now he’s in an unfortunate spot too lol," another fan said.
Here are some more reactions from the fans.
"I'm over it. I just want to see the Panthers lift the cup. Whether he meant it or not is kind of irrelevant in that sense," one fan said.
"Need to pay them back. McDavid has to be taken out tonight," another fan said.
"The ultimate payback is embarrassing this team on their home ice. I think the Panthers believe that, too," a fan said.
Despite the apparent severity of the hit, the NHL Department of Player Safety determined that Leon Draisaitl would not face further disciplinary action beyond the two-minute minor penalty he received during the game.
Panthers' reaction to Leon Draisaitl's hit on Aleksander Barkov
The Florida Panthers were left shaken after their captain Aleksander Barkov got hit by Leon Draisaitl. The Panthers rallied following the loss of their leader, with players like Evan Rodrigues stepping up their play.
"You never want to see your captain go down, but I thought everyone did a great job, focused in and got the job done," Rodrigues said post game 2 (per thehockeynews.com).
Young forward Anton Lundell also commented on the injury to Barkov, saying:
"He's our captain, we never want to miss him, but we hope he’s going to be okay. We love him and hope he comes back even stronger."
While the Panthers aim to regroup after potentially losing Barkov for some time, the Oilers did not seem overly concerned about the hit from Draisaitl.
“I think he went in there to make a hit, his hands got up a little high,” said Knoblauch. “He’s trying to knock him off the puck, and that led to the penalty,” head coach Kris Knoblauch said (per thehockeynews.com).
As the series shifts to Edmonton for Game 3, Barkov appears set to play after fully participating in the Panthers' practice on Wednesday.
