Yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks played the Montreal Canadiens on what turned out be be a rather spirited affair. Not only was it Kirby Dach's return to Chicago, but tensions were rather high throughout.
Midway through the third period, as the first overall pick from this years's draft, Juraj Slafkovsky was crossing the Chicago blue line he was met by Chicago forward Jason Dickinson, who absolutely lights him up. Take a look:
Slafkovsky was slow to get up and appeared to be rattled after the play. Michael Pezzetta took exception to hit and went after Dickinson. There was no penalty assessed on the play.
Now, the principal point of contact appeared to be the head, but slafkovsky was lunging for the puck, putting him on a vulnerable position. No call on the play must mean the officials deemed the contact to be coincidental as a result of the lunge.
I understand, his teammates wanting to jump in to protect the first year player, however, I don't think there was any ill intent on the part of Dickinson.