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The Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings are currently in the second intermission of Game Six in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Towards the end of the second period, this happened:

GIF: No penalty on this Kronwall hit on Kucherov pic.twitter.com/URkM6NrOZW

— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) April 28, 2015

As the tweet says, no call was assessed by the officials on the play. Still, two things are abundantly clear right off the bat:

i) Niklas Kronwall leaves his feet before making contact with Nikita Kucherov
ii) Kronwall leads with his elbow, and the principal point of contact is Kucherov's head

Reaction from around the league is already pouring in, and it's not positive.

Total elbow to the head by Kronwall. Obvious suspension. Not even debatable unless you're deliberately trying not to suspend.

— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) April 28, 2015

Guarantee @NHLPlayerSafety is watching these replays more than we are in Joe Louis Arena press box. Kronwall definitely makes head contact.

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) April 28, 2015

The fact that Kronwall jumps into the hit makes it more egregious.

— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) April 28, 2015

Can't imagine Kronwall will be playing gm 7 if TBay wins this one. Off his feet a bit, shot to Kucherov head

— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) April 28, 2015

Watching the replay, Kronwall jumps into the hit and leads with a forearm to the head. Not quite his trademark turn-your-back-into-it.

— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) April 28, 2015

I could go on...

The question now is whether or not the National Hockey League will suspend Kronwall for what is obviously an unacceptable hit, or use the old "it's the playoffs" excuse to avoid punishing an integral part of Detroit's core.

What are your thoughts?

Join the Discussion: » 219 Comments » Post New Comment

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