- Frank Nazar received a five-minute match penalty for a hit to Bo Horvat’s head with 1:33 left
- Horvat left the game and was still being evaluated, while the benches emptied into a brawl
- Read below for the Islanders’ reaction and the discipline question
Frank Nazar is facing a possible look from the NHL after his hit on Islanders captain Bo Horvat. The Blackhawks forward was given a five-minute match penalty for an illegal check to the head late in Thursday’s 4-1 loss at UBS Arena.
The play came with 1:33 left. Horvat had just fired the puck into the empty net for his second goal of the night when Nazar got him up high with a shoulder. Horvat went twisting through the air, landed on his side and left the game, according to the NHL.com recap.
Our second post took a closer look at the contact itself, and the head-area hit is what got Nazar tossed:
The Islanders did not wait around. Logan Stanley, Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau all went after Nazar, and a brawl broke out, per Julia Yohe’s report.
Head coach Peter DeBoer said Horvat was still under evaluation after the game. He was asked about the hit and said he thinks the officials got the call right.
“You don’t like that hit, especially at that time in the game and who it’s on,” DeBoer said. “I think they got the call right, and we’ll see, but you don’t like to see that on anybody.”
Stanley was asked about the team sticking up for Horvat and was proud of the response.
“That’s our captain. That’s our leader,” Stanley said. “You come after one of us, you gotta come after all of us.”
Emil Heineman called it a “cheap shot” to Newsday’s Andrew Gross.
Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope wrote that the hit could lead to NHL-initiated discipline. No hearing has been announced yet. Nazar had scored a minute earlier to end Ilya Sorokin’s shutout bid, and the Blackhawks fell to 1-4-0.
Horvat has been one of the league’s hottest starters. He has five points through four games and has scored on the power play three games running. You can read more on the Islanders captain in our earlier piece.
