Nobody Told Ottawa And Montreal It's Still Preseason, Attempt To Kill Each Other All Night
It's already been a brutal preseason for the Montreal Canadiens. They've already lost 2023 5th overall pick David Reinbacher for 5-6 months, and Patrik Laine for another 2-3 months after both of them suffered knee injuries against the Leafs last week. We're still a week away from legitimate hockey being played and the Habs have already lost two shiny new toys. Obviously they're growing a little sick and tired of teams crushing them with some questionable hits, so this Ridly Greig hit on Kirby Dach last night was going to push them on tilt.
I gotta be honest--I don't have a massive issue with that hit. Sure, he catches Dach up high. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that Dach lowers his shoulder to try to get around Norris. Not the worst hit in the world, but Ridly Greig has been developing a reputation of being a bit of a nuisance out there. Whether it was the slap shot on the empty net last year against Toronto, or catching Dach up high, he has the ability to piss off his opponents. And in the NHL, you're going to need to answer the bell for those things. But Greig didn't seem too eager to drop the gloves after the hit.
Don't want to fight? You probably shouldn't go around looking to catch guys with their head turned away. But here's the thing--if you refuse to answer the bell, the game still has to police itself out there. And when the other team has an absolute psychopath on the ice like Arber Xhekaj, there's a good chance he's going to try to homicide one of your best players due to your actions. So the first chance he has to take a shot on Tim Stutzle, it's murderin' time.
Now THAT is a dirty hit. Just some classic WiFi tomfoolery. One of the game's most unhinged lunatics taking the elevator to the top floor and unloading on Stutzle's head. I'm sure he would have found a way to get tossed from last night's game even without the hit on Dach and subsequent refusal from Greig to fight, but this just added extra motive to the crime. Brady Tkachuk is a guy who is always looking for a fight, so naturally he immediately goes after Xhekaj. It was only a matter of time.
Eventually in the 3rd Greig finally answered the bell and Kirby Dach was able to take care of business for himself.
79 minutes in penalties. A couple of scraps. A couple of greasy hits. A few game misconducts.
….all in a game that means absolutely nothing. Just preseason goofin'. Not a playoff series, not even points in the regular season standings. Just an exhibition game between a couple of division opponents. Don't let anybody tell you that the NHL isn't the greatest league in professional sports.