Kevin Labanc was originally issued a five minute major penalty for boarding for this hit on Vinnie Desharnais. After review, it was reduced to a two minute minor. What do we think? Tough Call will be reviewing the incident. Have your say!
@Edmonton Oilers
5 Comments
Oilers fan here. Nothing wrong with the hit. You cant hit the breaks and turn your back to the player. You need to skate along the board and take the hit.
This was same type of hit that McDavid did a few games back, both players moving fast to the boards, it’s up to the player going to do the hitting to keep his feet on the ice, stick down below the head and just follow through with the contact, this was a good hit, even though the Oilers hit his head on the glass, that’s why they wear helmets. No penalty required.
I supposed to be clean hit…BUT the elbow position is big question, what if oilers player skate along the boards that elbow could have simply rock him in the head area. Overall i think now it looks like an innocent play but labanc was trying to hit him hard and dirty
I have no idea what the refs were thinking. He sees nothing but numbers but still makes the hit. Why does he not just continue on his path and go for the puck? This is the definition of boarding. Can it be a defense that the opponent places himself in a vulnerable position? Some people compare it to someone running into the middle of the road and getting hit by a car, which could be a defense for the driver, but that is not an excuse to step on the accelerator and try to hit that person! I'm not a lawyer, but I assume that would be murder. The driver would still have to do his best not to hit the person and it's the same here. The fact that the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position could be a defense, but the hitter still has to try to not hit him violently into the boards. In this case he could have easily avoided the hit as the opponent was in a vulnerable position before he initiated the hit.
Leblanc left the ice surface to make the hit and blindsided him. Hitting in the wrong way can lead to severe injury both to the recipient and the hitter. Always maintain control when hitting, and never hit someone too low, above the shoulders, from behind, or leave your feet to land a hit. That was a Penalty no doubt.