This is the wildest thing to happen in an NHL game in years.
Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot accidentally slashed his own teammate Travis Homanic in the face with his stick on the bench. The incident occurred in a Sunday afternoon game between the Senators and Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
TSN broadcast cameras caught the wild sequence as it unfolded early in the second period. Chabot came off the ice visibly upset about a missed penalty call during his shift. Chabot put his hands up on the bench and expressed his frustration to teammate Jake Sanderson.
After voicing his frustration to Sanderson, Chabot turns to his right to smash his stick against the glass beside him. The only problem was Chabot wasn’t the last player on the bench. Travis Hamonic was sitting right beside Chabot and caught the brunt of Chabot’s stick smash.
Check out this wild clip below.
Video:
Thomas Chabot is furious about a missed call, and he accidentally slashes Hamonic across the face. 😳 pic.twitter.com/4JDCu6A7iT
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) December 10, 2022
Hamonic was visibly in pain after Chabot’s stick smash and appeared displaced with his teammate’s blatant recklessness. Chabot didn’t even check if someone was sitting beside him before executing the stack smash.
Luckily, Hamonic wasn’t seriously injured and was able to stay in the game. He finished with one hit and one blocked shot in 18:24 of ice time. At least Hamonic probably got a free dinner courtesy of Chabot after the game.
The Senators won the game 3-2, improving their record to 11-14-2 on the season. Even though they were victorious Saturday, it’s been a season to forget for Ottawa. Chabot slashing Hamonic is a microcosm of how things have been going for the Sens, who occupy last place in the Atlantic Division with 24 points.
It’s rare to see teammate-on-teammate violence like we saw Saturday. The last major incident was back in 2009 when Florida defenseman Keith Ballard swung his stick in rage and accidentally hit his goaltender Tomas Vokoun.
Hockey is an emotional game, but it’s important for players to be careful with their sticks. While Saturday’s incident didn’t lead to a major injury, we’d hate to see a serious injury as a result of a player being reckless with their twig.
