I love Cizikas's hard play, but the extension of his legs driving into that hit are what initiate unnecesary head contact. I agree that swivelling his hips avoids the problem entirely (ala Walman on Rantanen), but if he had just stayed low and skated through the hit rather than pushing up, head contact is much less likely. So I'm ok with the match penalty
The reason I believe he was and should have been given a match penalty is because the player was in a vulnerable position wth his head down trying to play the puck and Cizikis NEVER attempted to play the puck and hit him high, therefore it was the correct call.
The only thing I would say is Cizikas is looking right at the head, as if he is targeting the head. I tend to think that the the eyes of the hitter will tell you where the guy was aiming. Was this Trouba level evilness? No. But he was definitely looking to at least make some contact with the head, which he did.
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I love Cizikas's hard play, but the extension of his legs driving into that hit are what initiate unnecesary head contact. I agree that swivelling his hips avoids the problem entirely (ala Walman on Rantanen), but if he had just stayed low and skated through the hit rather than pushing up, head contact is much less likely. So I'm ok with the match penalty
The reason I believe he was and should have been given a match penalty is because the player was in a vulnerable position wth his head down trying to play the puck and Cizikis NEVER attempted to play the puck and hit him high, therefore it was the correct call.
The only thing I would say is Cizikas is looking right at the head, as if he is targeting the head. I tend to think that the the eyes of the hitter will tell you where the guy was aiming. Was this Trouba level evilness? No. But he was definitely looking to at least make some contact with the head, which he did.