Johnny Boychuk made a vow to Jakub Voracek as he was skating off the ice following a devastating interference hit from the latter on Saturday night in Long Island.
“I will get you,” he appeared to mouth at Voracek, who was already in the penalty box for his early third-period transgression.
Moments earlier, Boychuk was pinching in from the point to try and win a loose puck heading in Voracek’s direction. Boychuk never made it to the puck thanks to Voracek, who saw Boychuk coming and laid some nasty interference on him.
The hit itself appeared high and Boychuk’s left shoulder appeared to bounce off the ice, causing him to lay there for quite some time as held it, grimacing in pain.
You can see the hit here and Boychuk’s reaction once he was back up on his feet being helped off the ice.
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Voracek was assessed a five-minute major for interference while Boychuk never returned to the game.
Scott Mayfield went after Voracek once his time in the sin bin was up, but it instant melee that ensued mean there was no retribution. Mayfield was handed 10-minute misconduct, rendering his night over with less than 10 minutes left in the game.
The hit was unnecessary at best, with the Flyers up 5-1 in a game they’d end up winning 5-2. Of course, the counterpoint to this is Boychuk was flying in Voracek’s direction and Voracek was just bracing for impact. Either way, there’s a good chance the league takes a look at this one, given the scenario and the injury, right?
Boychuk, providing he’s healthy, will have his chance to seek vegeance as these two teams play each other on March 23 in their final meeting of the season.
UPDATE:
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