Hit on Kaiden Guhle: suspension coming for Nikita Kucherov?

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David St-Jean
April 5, 2024 (10:54)

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The Thursday night game was marked by a questionable hit from Nikita Kucherov on Kaiden Guhle. A suspension could well follow.

The Lightning star was not penalized on the play and it clearly doesn't sit well with many. Several fans, journalists, and analysts believe he deserves a suspension.

"I mean, it's not like Guhle turned at the last second there. He was facing the glass the whole way. In fact, it's when he was turning to get back to sideways that Kucherov turned him back towards the glass and finished his hit. That's boarding..." - Eric Engels, Sportsnet

What's unfortunate about this is that no Canadiens player went after Kucherov. He got away with no penalty and no retaliation, on top of producing several points.

"For me, it's clear: there should have been a penalty on Kucherov for the hit on Guhle.

He saw Guhle's number 21 from start to finish. I would also add that I didn't necessarily appreciate that no Canadiens player called him out."

- Anthony Martineau, TVA Sports

Truly, the League needs to address this, even if it would prevent Kucherov from claiming the scoring title. If he gets away with nothing, the message sent to other teams would be bad heading into the playoffs.