Eichel takes big hit in stride
STANLEY CUP FINAL Knights star has no complaints after getting levelled
Matthew Tkachuk lined up Jack Eichel and levelled him with a thunderous open-ice hit that sent him to the ice.
Eichel quickly skated off and retreated to the locker room, for more than a few moments putting a scare into the Vegas Golden Knights late in the second period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final. Instead of his night being over, Eichel returned for the third period and set up the fifth goal of seven in a rout of the Florida Panthers that put Vegas up 2-0 in the best-ofseven series — two wins away from a championship.
The hit debated ’round the hockey world was quickly determined by all involved to be clean, and Eichel’s bounce back to play another important role in this playoff run only further exemplified the Panthers mantra that “it hurts to win.” Teammates, after checking in with Eichel at intermission to make sure he was OK, repeated that phrase over and over.
“It was definitely a big collision,” Eichel said. “It’s a physical game. You’re going to get hit sometimes. You just kind of move on.”
Eichel refused to complain about the hit, and even took responsibility for putting himself in that position: “Got to be aware of it, you know?
You’ve got to keep your head up.”
That kind of hit used to be commonplace in the NHL, but has faded with the evolution of the game toward skill and away from potentially brutal contact. Tkachuk, the Panthers’ leading scorer and emotional leader, is not afraid to throw his body around to make a difference and employs an old-school mentality about players protecting themselves.
“It doesn’t matter who you are: You shouldn’t be going through the middle with your head down,” Tkachuk said. “You’re going to get hit. I mean, I would get hit, too, if I had my head down in the middle. It’s nothing. It’s not a big deal. He’s a really good player, and really good players can get hit, too.”
The hit itself was made worse by Eichel losing his footing — “toepicked a bit” — seconds before contact. He landed awkwardly and grimaced while skating off.
Eichel later conceded he got the wind knocked out of him, but it appeared worse in real time.
“You don’t want to see a guy like Jack go down,” teammate William Carrier said. “He looked bad out there, to be honest.”
Eichel didn’t think it was bad enough to writhe on the ice and wait for medical attention when he could skate off and begin the process of collecting himself. When did he know for sure he was OK? It didn’t take long.
“I just came (into the locker room) and regrouped,” Eichel said. “I got my wits back about me and realized I was fine.”Teammates called Eichel strong and “a warrior.” His coach was most proud of Eichel’s ability to take a hit, pop right up and continue to contribute.
“That’s hockey,” Cassidy said. “It’s OK to get hit in June. This is part of the journey. It hurts to win, and it’s not supposed to be easy. Good for him.”