There’s not as much straight up face punching in hockey as there used to be, and even when there was, skilled players like Alex Ovechkin managed to stay away from it, valuing their hands over their ability to land a good right hook.
But, during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Washington Capitals star forward didn’t hesitate to drop the gloves against the Carolina Hurricanes Andrei Svechnikov, who probably regrets asking Ovechkin if he wanted to go. All it took was three devastating and frankly scary blows to the face before the outmatched 19-year-old was lying prone on the ice.
It’s not a pretty picture.
There’s debate over whether or not Ovi pushed Svechnikov down onto the ice, but the slow motion replay looks like he may have just lost his balance.
Svechnikov was down on the ice for far too long and had to be helped off by medical trainers. Per the Raleigh News & Observer, he’s out for the rest of the game.
