- Gabriel Landeskog says Artyom Levshunov’s hit on Cale Makar deserved more than a two-minute minor
- Landeskog later hip-checked Levshunov in mid-air as the Avalanche beat the Blackhawks 5-2
- Read below for what the Avalanche captain said and how the hit went down
Gabriel Landeskog didn’t like what he saw from Artyom Levshunov, and he made sure the Blackhawks defenseman knew it.
The Avalanche captain said after Monday’s 5-2 win in Chicago that Levshunov’s hit on Cale Makar should have drawn a harder look from the officials than a two-minute minor.
Landeskog was asked about the play postgame and didn’t hold back.
“I didn’t like it at all,” Landeskog said. “I thought it was more than just a two-minute elbowing, too. I think he leaves his feet, and I think he makes head contact, so I think it at least should’ve been reviewed for that.”
Here’s the hit that set everything off:
Levshunov jumped into the contact on Makar, and Martin Necas went after him right away. Levshunov got a minor for elbowing and Necas drew a coincidental roughing minor for the scrum that followed. Makar wasn’t hurt and played a game-high 23 minutes.
Take a look at a closer angle of the contact:
Landeskog explained why he took matters into his own hands the rest of the night.
“If the refs aren’t going to call it, then we have to take it into our hands a little bit,” he said.
He did exactly that later in the game. Check out the hip-check on Levshunov:
Landeskog caught Levshunov while he was in the air and sent the Blackhawks defenseman flying. No penalty on that one, and the Avalanche kept rolling.
Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz each scored twice for Colorado, which rallied from a 2-0 hole to win its third straight. T.J. Hughes had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 21 shots.
Makar has been in the middle of plenty already this season. We covered his twins arriving in October. This time the headlines are about the hits he took.
These two Central Division teams don’t meet again until Feb. 28.
