- Taylor Hall got a minor for an illegal check to the head at 4:24 of the second period
- Jake Sanderson left Game 3 shortly after and did not return as the Canes took a 3-0 series lead
- Read below for Travis Green’s full reaction and the video of the play
Travis Green did not mince words about what took Jake Sanderson out of Game 3.
Ottawa’s head coach was asked what led to Sanderson’s early exit after Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Carolina, and he pointed right at Taylor Hall’s second-period hit.
“It’s pretty obvious why he left the game,” Green told reporters. “I just don’t understand how there’s not a five-minute major called on a hit to the head. It’s a blatant hit to the head. The kind of hit you don’t want to see. It’s ridiculous there wasn’t a review.”
The hit came at 4:24 of the second period. Sanderson was playing the puck behind his own net when Hall arrived on the forecheck and caught him high, sending his helmet flying.
Hall was given a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head. By rule, referees don’t have a major penalty option on those calls. They can either hand out a minor or go straight to a match penalty with a game misconduct, and nothing in between.
Sanderson toughed out two more shifts before heading down the tunnel, and he did not come back. He finished with 13:19 of ice time, a team low among Ottawa’s defensemen.
Green said he expects the league office to get involved.
“I’d be shocked if the NHL Department of Player Safety doesn’t look at that hit and get something done about it,” Green said, per ESPN.
Losing another top defender is brutal for a team already without Artem Zub, who has been out since Game 1. Zub and Sanderson made up Ottawa’s top defense pair all season. Sanderson was also the team’s leading scorer among defensemen with 54 points in 67 regular-season games.
Captain Brady Tkachuk kept it short when asked about digging out of a 3-0 hole.
“It’s pretty frustrating, but we’ve got to find a way,” Tkachuk said. “We haven’t quit all season.”
Ottawa hosts Carolina for Game 4 on Saturday afternoon with its season on the line.
