Max Domi’s sucker punch on Aaron Ekblad was a gutless thing to do, says Florida Panther Goalie Roberto Luongo. He also said that NHL should look into it.
NHL actually came out with a decision on Thursday by which Max Domi is to remain suspended from the Montreal Canadiens preseason games.
During the exhibition match between Panthers and Canadiens; Domi was already given a penalty for punching Ekblad in the nose on Wednesday night.
Ekblad tried to slash away Domi’s stick in an effort to goad the Panther’s defenseman for fight but ultimately Ekblad skated away.
League in their suspension video said that, “Domi who was frustrated by Ekblad’s unwillingness to fight got frustrated and let go of his stick and gloves. E delivered Ekblad with a fierce nose punch that made a huge cut that required emergency medical attention.”
Following NHL’s request, Ekblad left the game and did not return. After the game he went from a series of test to clear out the concussion protocol.
Luongo said after the game to media, “if your opponent does not wants you to fight then you do not need to drop your gloves and stick and hit them square in the face. This is a gutless play. You don’t do those things”.
While Ekblad dropped to the floor covered in blood, Domi was given minor, major and match penalty.
Former Arizona Coyote’s player Domi has also been previously suspended in his career once. He was suspended last time for instigating a fight in the last five minutes of regulation.
On the other hand Canadiens players saw this whole incident in a different light. According to Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin, “those two were arguing with each other and then I saw a pretty hard slash from Ekblad on Max after which Max took matters into his own hands. It’s Ekblad’s fault that he did not protected himself”.
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