It’s better to be the hammer than the nail. Wednesday, with 2:54 remaining in the second period, Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov knocked Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm out of the game with a violent, hard, high, hit. Hampus tried to get up, but Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark kept him from getting up. Post-hit, Lindholm had to be helped off the ice. Lindholm didn’t return to the game, he appeared to be very wobbly. It didn\u2019t look good. Lindholm could be out for the rest of the series.<\/p>\n
Post-game, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy’s gave his thoughts on the hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked high to me,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cThat\u2019s why he left the game. He has an upper-body injury. [The hit] was on time, certainly. But it looked high. They didn\u2019t see it that way. Sometimes those get reviewed, sometimes they don\u2019t. I don\u2019t know if this one will. I have not heard anything. I guess we\u2019ll see on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I hate to see that,\u201d said Bruins captain\u00a0Patrice Bergeron\u00a0of the hit<\/a>. \u201cBasically, we\u2019re behind him or thinking of him and see what happens. I don\u2019t know any more than that. That being said, we have a great team of trainers and medical staff that\u2019s going to take care of him.\u201d<\/p>\n From the other side of the ice, here’s Svechnikov’s take on the hit.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I like the physical part of the game, but I feel bad for that guy,\u201d Svechnikov said<\/a>. \u201cIt was a pretty hard hit. I was in a spot where I kind of had to hit it. I had time there and he didn\u2019t see me. I had to do that, but obviously, I feel bad and I hope he\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n At first look, many thought the hit in question was clean. There are varying opinions. Boston Globe beat writer Kevin Paul Dupont referred to the hit as “a heavy, shoulder-to-chin hit<\/a> by Andrei Svechnikov on defenseman Hampus Lindholm.” From looking at an image from Boston Globe photographer Mathew J. Lee<\/a>, it does appear that Svechnikov\u2019s hit on Lindholm was high. High or not, it didn\u2019t look good.<\/p>\n Lindholm did accompany the team back to Boston, but he won\u2019t play in game three. The Bruins enter Friday’s game three against the Hurricanes down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series. The Bruins can ruminate about the hit, or they can try to get back into the series. If not, they can start booking their tee times.<\/p>\n You can judge for yourself. Here’s video of the hit in question. Jimmy Murphy from Boston Hockey Now<\/a>, thought the hit was worthy of a look from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.<\/p>\nBreaking Down the Hit<\/h2>\n