Elliotte Friedman raises concern over ‘chaos & carnage” in playoffs following mere 2-minute penalty for hit on Tomas Hertl

On Sunday, Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl was injured after a hit by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg. In the second half of the third period, Hertl was on a breakaway when Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save. As Hertl went for the rebound, Lilleberg pushed him from behind, sending him into the boards. Hertl got up holding his right arm and left the game and did not return.

The referees first called a five-minute major penalty for boarding. After reviewing the play, they reduced it to a two-minute minor. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed this decision on the "32 Thoughts" podcast.

"Boarding is rule number 41 you know - minor penalty is basic, and if you get a major penalty, which they initially gave to Lilleberg, a major is an automatic game misconduct," Friedman said. [6:30]

Friedman explained that Rule 41 states that game misconduct is required if an injury affects the face or head. Since Tomas Hertl’s injury was to his shoulder, officials did not have to give Lilleberg a game misconduct. However, Friedman believed the hit still deserved a major penalty.

"And so,... I always take a look at this, so hurdle, it's the shoulder, so they didn't have to give them a game misconduct there, since it wasn't the face or head," Friedman said. "... on the eve of the playoffs. I look at a play like that in the playoffs, everyone's going to be back checking hard. And I would look at a play like that, and I would say, in this case, I want the major."

Friedman said coaches might show this play to their players as an example. He explained that they could say it was only a minor penalty and encourage harder backchecking. He also mentioned that players are already motivated at this point in the season and do not need extra pressure to play aggressively.

"(People are) looking at it and saying, This is the way the playoffs are going to be played..., Friedman said. "I said, you can't have that in the playoffs if that if players think that - that play is okay, then we're going to have complete chaos and carnage in the playoffs. I look at this one and I say I would have liked to have seen on the eve of the playoffs - that stay in major."

Friedman believes the league should send a clearer message to prevent dangerous plays.

Elliotte Friedman called the hit on Tomas Hertl unintentional

Elliotte Friedman said Emil Lilleberg's intention was not to injure Tomas Hertl. But he made it clear that this could lead to more reckless hits in the playoffs. He said players might feel encouraged to take risks.

"I don't necessarily think that the push is violent," Friedman said. "but what I do think is that he's got so much speed and hurdle is kind of defenseless. But I thought that should have stayed a major."

Tomas Hertl has scored 31 goals this season, including four in his last two games. His injury is a big concern for Vegas. While the Golden Knights won 4-2, they now worry about Hertl’s availability.