SUNRISE, Fla. — Edmonton’s Warren Foegele was ejected from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night for his knee-on-knee hit that injured Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen midway through the first period.
Foegele stuck out his left leg into Luostarinen’s left leg and a scrum ensued after as the Finnish forward lay on the ice and got medical attention. Luostarinen skated off with athletic trainers and immediately went down the tunnel.
Officials reviewed the hit and decided it warranted a 5-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. It was not immediately clear if the NHL’s department of player safety might consider supplemental discipline for Foegele.
Just 97 seconds afterward, Florida defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson was penalized for tripping. The Oilers scored their first goal of the series at 4 on 4 when fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm beat Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole on an odd-man rush.
Luostarinen returned to the ice a few minutes later.
Luostarinen was playing in just his second Cup final game after missing the series last year with a broken leg.
Foegele returned to the Oilers lineup Saturday night in the series opener after being a healthy scratch for the final three games of the Western Conference final against Dallas.
In a recent game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers, Oilers forward Warren Foegele found himself in hot water after delivering a controversial hit on Panthers’ forward Eetu Luostarinen. The hit resulted in Foegele receiving a game misconduct penalty, sparking debate and discussion among fans and analysts alike.
The incident occurred in the second period of the game when Foegele delivered a high hit on Luostarinen along the boards. The hit appeared to catch Luostarinen off guard and resulted in him falling to the ice. Luostarinen was slow to get up and had to be helped off the ice by trainers, sparking concern among both teams and fans.
The referees quickly assessed Foegele a game misconduct penalty for the hit, signaling that they believed it to be a dangerous and illegal play. The decision to eject Foegele from the game was met with mixed reactions, with some arguing that it was a necessary call to protect player safety, while others felt that it was an overly harsh punishment for what they saw as a routine hockey play.
Foegele, for his part, expressed remorse for the hit after the game, stating that he did not intend to injure Luostarinen and that he hoped he was okay. Luostarinen’s condition following the hit has not been disclosed, but the Panthers are expected to provide an update on his status in the coming days.
Hits like the one delivered by Foegele are always a contentious issue in hockey, with debates raging over what constitutes a clean hit versus a dangerous one. The NHL has taken steps in recent years to crack down on hits to the head and other dangerous plays in an effort to protect player safety, but incidents like this one serve as a reminder that there is still work to be done in making the game safer for everyone involved.
As fans await further updates on Luostarinen’s condition and any potential disciplinary action against Foegele, one thing is clear: hits like these will continue to be a point of contention in the NHL for the foreseeable future. It is up to players, coaches, and league officials to work together to ensure that the game remains both exciting and safe for all involved.