On Tuesday the Bruins and Sharks met for the second time in eight days, and for the second time in eight days, the game offered up some interesting dramatics.
If you do not feel like watching the video, the sequence went something like this.
Second period
Chara hit to Kane's shoulder.
Kane cross check.
Chara slash.
Chara hit on Kane along the boards.
Kane cross check
Kane hit on Sean Kuraly along the boards
Kuraly cross check
Kane drops gloves, and throws punches at Kuraly.
Third period
Kane clean hit on Chara.
Chara hit to the head of Kane.
Kane jumps Chara and takes him down to the ice.
Kane and Chara fight.
Got it? Good.
Let me start with this: Kane was at it all night long, Kane wasn't there just to try and win a hockey game, Kane was there to find some trouble, and he sure did find it.
Chara's hit was certainly up high on Kane, and from the angle we've seen, it does appear Chara did make contact with Kane's head, but I am sure the league--who will be looking at the hit--will have better angles than what we've seen thus far.
Kane is a tough hockey player, no denying that. He's a guy who can land punches with force. Was grabbing Chara from behind and swinging him down to the ground the only way Kane felt he could seek proper revenge?
Maybe.
"Again, it’s something that happens during games. It’s a physical game, maybe some frustration on his part, I’m not sure, I can’t really speak for him," Chara said of Kane jumping him. "Just obviously, bracing myself for a check and it just happened."
Once Chara was able to get back to his feet, Chara made Kane pay for his not-so-wise decision to jump him.
"If you’re going to fight him, that’s the way to do it," said Brad Marchand who had three points in the win. "You know, so, not a guy you want to square off with, but obviously a very tough man and a very scary man."
Even though it seemed Kane was looking for fights from the drop of the puck, Chara said that the actions of Kane leading up to the third period incident had nothing to do with what ensued.
"No, that has nothing to do with it," added Chara. "I was just playing hard and finishing my check."
Kane was later tossed from the game after continuing to exchange words with the officials, clearly not happy with what Kane would later call a "headshot."
After the dust settled on the altercation with Chara, and his verbal exchanges with the referees, Kane was assessed an instigator penalty, a major for fighting and two misconducts, ending his night much earlier than he had hoped for.
Meeting the media after the loss with some cuts and swelling on his face, Kane was still upset with what went down in the third period.
"It was a hit right to my face, head, whatever you want to call it. Clearly I get up and look at the referee who’s watching from the corner and he’s standing there with both arms down and I’m absolutely stunned," Kane said.
"If I’m going to be officiated in a different way, what am I supposed to do outside defend myself. I’m not going to sit there and take a direct shot to the head."
You may remember Kane and the Bruins having some previous history, more so with Kevan Miller who missed Tuesday's contest with an upper-body injury.
As a member of the Sabres on New Year's Eve 2016, Kane and Miller nearly dropped the gloves, but before the two could go, the referees stepped in and prevented any fireworks from happening. After the game, Miller told reporters that Kane was "excited to fight when the referees came in, but not before."
Kane was not amused by Miller's comments, so the veteran forward took to Twitter.
When a guy pretends to want to fight and only chirps when the 6'6 linesman is standing in the way. #KevanMiller#pretender#stoplying
“You saw the game, right? I said my piece after the game. He wanted to fight when the refs came in and now he’s using Twitter, which is whatever you want to call it. He seems to have to say that when we don’t play them again. That’s my thought,” said Miller. “He knew I wanted to [fight]. There’s no ands, ifs or buts about it."
Unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Final, Bruins vs. Kane III will have to wait at least one more season.
Updated* Monday 2/27 11:54AM
Per Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic, Chara will not have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety. Upon learning of the league’s decision, Kane once again took to Twitter.
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