Matthew Tkachuk lined up Jack Eichel and leveled him with a thunderous open-ice hit that despatched him to the ice.
Eichel rapidly skated off and retreated to the locker room, for quite a lot of moments placing a scare into the Vegas Golden Knights late within the second interval of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Instead of his evening being over, Eichel returned for the third interval and arrange the fifth aim of seven in a rout of the Florida Panthers that put Vegas up 2-0 within the best-of-seven sequence and two wins away from a championship.
The hit debated ’around the hockey world was rapidly decided by all concerned to be clear, and Eichel’s bounce again to play one other necessary position on this playoff run solely additional exemplified a group mantra that “it hurts to win.” Players, after checking in with Eichel at intermission to verify he was OK, repeated that phrase time and again.
“It was definitely a big collision,” Eichel mentioned. “It’s a physical game. You’re going to get hit sometimes. You just kind of move on.”
Eichel refused to complain concerning the hit and even took duty for placing himself in that place. “Got to be aware of it, you know? You’ve got to keep your head up.”
That type of hit was once commonplace within the NHL however has pale with the evolution of gamers towards ability and away from probably brutal contact. Tkachuk, the Panthers’ main scorer this postseason and their emotional chief, just isn’t afraid to throw his physique round to make a distinction and carries with him an old-school mentality about gamers defending themselves.
“It doesn’t matter who you are: You shouldn’t be going through the middle with your head down,” Tkachuk mentioned. “You’re going to get hit. I mean, I would get hit, too, if I had my head down in the middle. It’s nothing. It’s not a big deal. He’s a really good player, and really good players can get hit, too.”
The hit itself was made worse by Eichel shedding his footing – “toe-picked a bit” – seconds earlier than contact. He landed awkwardly and grimaced whereas skating off.
Eichel later conceded he received the wind knocked out of him, but it surely appeared worse in actual time.
“You don’t want to see a guy like Jack go down,” teammate William Carrier mentioned. “He looked bad out there, to be honest.”
Eichel didn’t suppose it was unhealthy sufficient to writhe on the ice and look ahead to medical consideration when he may skate off and start the method of accumulating himself.
When did he know for certain he was OK? It didn’t take lengthy.
“I just came (into the locker room) and regrouped,” Eichel mentioned. “I got my wits back about me and realized I was fine.”
Vegas led 4-0 on the time after chasing Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, and Eichel sitting out for precautionary causes wouldn’t have been all that uncommon. But after coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed every little thing was all proper, Eichel was again on the bench at first of the third, offering a lift by his mere presence.
“Not only does it give us juice, but sometimes it can take away juice from the other team if they see a guy come back,” Cassidy mentioned. “It was good for the group.”
It received higher.
On Eichel’s first shift again, he gained a puck battle and fed the puck to Jonathan Marchessault for his second aim of the sport and the Golden Knights’ fifth.
“That’s the resiliency we have in that locker room,” Marchessault mentioned. “It starts with your top guys and goes right through the lineup.”
The announcement of Eichel’s help drew a louder-than-usual cheer from the gang of 18,561. That meant loads to Eichel, who additionally appreciated teammates ensuring he was good to go.
“Everyone’s taken a couple hits in their career,” he mentioned. “This is a physical game we play, so it’s all part of it.”
Not letting it derail his and the Knights’ title would possibly make the hit and Eichel’s response a part of franchise lore if they’ll end off Florida and hoist the Cup for the primary time within the franchise’s transient, six-year historical past.
Already, teammates known as Eichel sturdy and “a warrior.” His coach was most happy with Eichel boasting the toughness of a hockey participant prepared to take a success and pop proper up and proceed contributing.
“That’s hockey,” Cassidy mentioned. “It’s OK to get hit in June. This is part of the journey. It hurts to win, and it’s not supposed to be easy. Good for him.”
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