"Doucherov with the dirty play after a clean hit": NHL fans criticise Nikita Kucherov's retaliation at Josh Davies for Victor Hedman hit

The Tampa Bay Lightning hosted the Florida Panthers at Amalie Arena on Wednesday for the preseason matchup. The Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov faced criticism from NHL fans on social media after a retaliatory incident involving Panthers' Josh Davies during the game.

The incident unfolded in the second period when Davies delivered a hard hit to Bolts defenseman Victor Hedman in open ice. Kucherov, visibly displeased by the hit on Hedman, quickly jumped into the action, grabbing Davies from behind and taking him down to the ice in defense of his teammate.

Before the situation could escalate further, officials intervened to separate the players. As a result, Kucherov was assessed a 2-minute minor penalty for roughing.

One fan criticizing Kucherov for his actions on X (formerlyTwitter) said:

Doucherov with the dirty play after a clean hit.

Another chimed in:

"Can we stop with the trend of going after dudes that made a clean hit? Answering the bell used to only apply for dirty plays, now it’s on every big hit."

Here are some of the other top reactions on X:

"look at dirty a** kucherov getting mad about a perfectly clean hit on the guy with the puck," posted another.

"I think the fact it’s a preseason game adds to it, I get it it’s hockey and it wasnt a terrible hit, but is there a need for it in this game? I mean you’ve got an all star team full of guys hurt during preseason so far!" one X user opined.

"Kucherov has always been dirty., clean hit compared to attacking someone from behind," another commented.

"Clean hit ..... I get you wanna show support but gosh show support by doing the same thing to the other team. Nice, clean , crushing hit," another chimed in.

Nikita Kucherov scorers in Bolts' 2-1 defeat to Panthers

The reigning Stanley Cup winners emerged victorious after taking down the Bolts 2-1 in overtime.

After a goalless first period, Zac Dalve broke the deadlock to put the Cats up 1-0 after scoring on the powerplay at 3:30 of the second period. The Lightning responded in the third period with Nikita Kucherov's goal at 15:27 to tie the game and force overtime.

Sandin Vilamanis scored 15 seconds into overtime to secure the victory for the visitors. Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday before they wrap up their preseason against the Nashville Predators on Monday, Oct. 7.