Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Niskanen will have a hearing for his cross-check on Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher during Wednesday's Game 5 loss, the Department of Player Safety announced.
Here's a look at the play in question:
Ouch 😐 pic.twitter.com/R0lja9mofZ
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) August 20, 2020
It was revealed Thursday that Gallagher suffered a broken jaw, which will require surgery. He will miss the remainder of the series versus the Flyers.
Even though the collision left Gallagher bloodied, officials didn't call a penalty.
Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault doesn't believe Niskanen is at fault.
"Let's see what happens this afternoon. But in my estimation, Gallagher got up and seemed fine, he was talking to the referees. The whole time he was on the bench, he was talking to our players. ... I don't think it's Nisky's fault that he's taller than a bunch of guys," he said, per Sportsnet's Eric Engels.
On top of the Niskanen play, there was plenty of animosity between the teams in Game 5. Montreal forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi received a five-minute major and an ejection for boarding Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim. Then in the dying seconds of the contest, Sean Couturier caught Artturi Lehkonen with a blindside hit after the Habs potted the empty-netter that sealed their victory.
With plenty of drama in tow, a do-or-die Game 6 is scheduled for Friday evening, with the Flyers holding a 3-2 series lead.
