Uh oh. Anaheim Ducks center Nate Thompson could find himself on Santa’s naughty list after receiving a five minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk.
… or will he?
Take a look at the play:
Thompson clearly makes contact with Justin Faulk’s head, no question there. Give him two minutes.
Where things get a bit cloudy is how the contact with the head comes to be. Faulk is prone to be hit as his legs are stretched in a weird lunge-esque position after releasing the puck.
Good news, Faulk appears to be okay. Following some bench-side repairs, he came back on the ice with a tube of cotton up his nose. Bad news, Ducks lost one of their centers for the game just a mere 6:25 into it. Thompson was playing in only fourth game of the season after missing the first chunk of the season to rehabbing off-season shoulder surgery.
So what do you think? Did Thompson deserve to get the gate? Is he going to get a call from Department of Player Safety on Saturday? YOU BE THE JUDGE!
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