Tommy Wingels had a thing going all game with Nazem Kadri in game one of Leafs vs Bruins.  Late in the third period, with the game in the toilet and 4-1 for Boston, Wingels and Zdeno Chara got Mitch Marner in a pincer move, and then Kadri took a run at Wingels, butt checking his head into the boards as Wingels was already down on his knees.

Wingels did not return to the game.

Earlier today Player Safety handed out a one-game suspension to Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings for a hit in their first game.

This suspension, as the video makes clear, was given for the hit to the head.  At the time, no penalty was assessed.

In Kadri’s case, he was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a 10-minute game misconduct per the game summary.

The Doughty case shows that Player Safety is not going to let everything slide in the playoffs, and the number of penalties called in this and other games seems to suggest the whistle in pocket concept is becoming more and more of a myth.

Prior to this game, Mike Babcock made a pointed remark about how he expected both teams to refrain from taking undisciplined penalties. I think both teams failed at that. But this isn’t the first time Kadri has made a bad situation worse.

We’ll likely know by tomorrow afternoon if there will be supplemental discipline.

Not sure that admitting your hit was retaliation is a good idea, but we’ll see.

Maple Leafs Playoffs