Kraken coach blasts Flames' Pospisil for "garbage" hits
The Calgary Flames could be without Martin Pospisil on Thursday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, and perhaps even longer.
Pospisil has had a great rookie season with the Flames, thanks largely to the physical presence he brings. His game has impressed management, as he was given a two-year extension earlier in the season. That said, there are times that he toes the line between clean and dirty. Last night versus the Seattle Kraken, he crossed that boundary.
Pospisil was flying around from the get-go versus the Kraken, laying a punishing hit on Kraken defenceman Adam Larsson. Some fans thought the hit deserved a penalty, but the officials chose to let it go.
What a hit by Pospisil on Larsson š± pic.twitter.com/W1RjM37RRW
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 5, 2024
While that hit may have been borderline to some, there was no question that the hit he laid on Vince Dunn in the third period crossed the line. He was assessed a five-minute major on the play and is expected to have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, as per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
#Flamesā Martin Pospisil gets ejected (5 and a game) for āchecking from behindā on #SeaKrakenās Vince Dunn pic.twitter.com/KkswUde4Px
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) March 5, 2024
Kraken players weren’t too happy about the hit, as they quickly went after Pospisil in defence of their teammate. Their head coach, Dave Hakstol, wasn’t a fan of either check the 24-year-old delivered.
“Garbage,” Hakstol said when asked about the hit. “Really not a whole lot different than the first hit six [or] seven seconds into the game. You run around like that, you probably need to answer when somebody comes at you man-to-man. That didn’t happen either, so from there, I’ll leave it to the league. I thought both hits were about as bad as you get.”
Hakstol is referring to a play early in the second period in which Tye Kartye attempted to fight Pospisil for his hit on Larsson. The Flames winger took some punches but chose not to drop his gloves.
Tye Kartye took a number and stood up for his teammate.
He delivers a beating to Tomas Pospisil after Pospisil's hit on Adam Larsson earlier in the game. pic.twitter.com/bHPT0RQLBC
— Emerald City Hockey (@EmeraldCityHky) March 5, 2024
While Pospisil may need to bring things back a tad moving forward, you have to love this if you’re a Flames fan. He brings a ton of intensity to the ice and is already starting to make a name for himself for how much hate he draws from opposing teams.
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