We’ve already had one questionable hit on Saturday, and now we have a second.
This one comes at the mid-way point of the third period in the game between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the Bruins leading 6-2, Charlie McAvoy gets the puck from Jaroslav Halak behind his own net and makes the pass to his defense partner. Hyman comes in at an angle where McAvoy can’t see him and drills him with a blindside hit well after the puck had made its way to the other side of the ice.
It appears that McAvoy hits his head on the boards the way down.
You can see the hit here:
The hit is made all the worse given that McAvoy just returned to the lineup on Thursday after missing 20 games with a concussion.
Hyman got a five-minute major for interference on the McAvoy hit, five minutes for fighting Bruins’ Matt Grzelcyk and a game misconduct. Grzelcyk was tossed, too.
Zach Hyman's late hit on Charlie McAvoy is still under review by @NHLPlayerSafety. Hyman was assessed an interference major on the ice, and didn't appear to make contact with McAvoy's head, but there's still discussion about possible supplemental discipline.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 9, 2018
The fisticuffs didn’t end there. A minute later, Chris Wagner got a penalty for charging Morgan Rielly which prompted Ron Hainsey to step in and fight Wagner.
McAvoy returned to the bench just prior to the game ending but did not take another shift.
Bruce Cassidy called the Zach Hyman hit on Charlie McAvoy "late and unnecessary" and said it was annoying given the situation late in a 3rd period of a game that's basically over
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 9, 2018
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck