The easiest thing to agree upon about Joe Thornton’s rear-end-first hit on T.J. Oshie is that it looked awfully painful.
Oshie was in an awkward spot, and he took quite some time to get up, with his head certainly seeming to absorb quite a bit of contact during Monday’s game between the Sharks and Capitals.
Thornton, 38, has some suspensions in his past, yet the most recent one came in 2010. “Jumbo Joe” seemed to take a less physical approach once he joined the Sharks after being a 100+ PIM machine during much of his Boston Bruins days.
Here’s a GIF of the hit, if you prefer that instead of video:
Here's a look at Thornton's hit on Oshie
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 5, 2017
Watch #CapsSharks live: https://t.co/NGTPHxGvna pic.twitter.com/L04bzUEKnr
The reviews of the check seem a bit mixed at this time.
Thornton smashed Oshie's head into the boards with his butt. Did not look dirty, Oshie was down when Thornton came in. https://t.co/VyJA1uNFV6
— JJ Regan (@JJRegan41) December 5, 2017
There was no penalty called on Thornton. PHT will be on the lookout regarding Oshie’s condition and if any supplemental discipline might come Thornton’s way.
Whether he faces a suspension, fine, or nothing else, apparently the Capitals decided to get revenge of their own just moments ago. As you can see, Tom Wilson exacted revenge with hard punch, quickly dropping Thornton:
Joe Thornton vs. Tom Wilson#SJSharks #Caps pic.twitter.com/rJwnF2w7YD
— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) December 5, 2017
To little surprise, Oshie’s night is over early. Beyond that, we’ll need to wait and see. The Capitals ended up beating the Sharks 4-1.
#Caps TJ Oshie (upper body) will not return to tonight’s game and will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 5, 2017
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.