Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl became public enemy No. 1 for the Florida Panthers fan base. In the third period of Game 2 of the 2024 Stanely Cup Finals, Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov was going to play a puck in the defensive zone.
Coming in on the forecheck, Leon Draisaitl left his skates and his elbow ended up hitting Barkov in the jaw. The hit sent Barkov to the ice and ended up knocking him out of the game. He was tended to by the medical staff on the ice before heading to the locker room.
Ahead of Game 3 on Thursday day, the Oilers high-scoring forward was asked about the play. He said that his intent was not to injure Barkov, as he is not that kind of player.
“I looked at it. I think we all know that I’m not a player that plays with an intent to injure anybody, by any means,” Draisaitl said Thursday ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. “I have no track record of that.”
Any time a hit like that is made on the ice, fans will now wonder if it was done with malicious intent. Earlier in the postseason, Boston Bruins veteran Brad Marchand made a shocking statement, saying players are looking to hurt opponents and it is just part of the NHL postseason.
Evidently, Leon Draisaitl is not of that line of thinking. He was looking to make a play and accidents happen, as he said there was no intent to injure his opponent. The league seems to agree with that, as the NHL Department of Player Safety ruled earlier this week that the Edmonton Oilers forward would not be fined or suspended.
“I’m not a player that enjoys that part of the game, injuring other players or anything like that,” Draisaitl said. “I caught him in an unfortunate spot.
“Can’t stress it enough: I’m not someone that wants to play the game of hockey wanting to injure anybody.”
In his career, Leon Draisaitl has never been fined or suspended for a hit, so it would be fair to give him the benefit of the doubt. In a bit of good news, Barkov looks to be on track to play in Game 3 as he was a full participant in the Panthers practice on Wednesday.
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