Justin Williams channeled his inner WWE wrestler during Thursday’s Capitals-Penguins tilt, grabbing Evgeni Malkin with a nasty horse collar and slamming the star hard towards the ice.
https://twitter.com/xmasape/status/786750917169123328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Williams was given a two-minute roughing penalty for grappling Malkin to the ice. It’s unclear what provoked Williams, but it appears it was distain at the Penguins team which eliminated the Capitals in last season’s playoffs. He went nuts on them earlier in the game.
good thing the ref held Justin Williams back, he was about to destroy the entire city of Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/tP1gGEwyTP
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) October 14, 2016
The takedown was dangerous. Malkin wasn’t facing him, so he couldn’t see the play behind him. Williams essentially grabbed him by the neck and slammed his as hard as he could against the ice. The Penguins star is lucky he didn’t suffer a serious neck or head injury. Williams is a respected NHL veteran, so it’s shocking he didn’t know better.
Malkin’s teammate Eric Fehr didn’t believe Williams roughhousing was a fair, clean hockey play.
Fehr was asked if he's ever seen anything like Justin Williams' horse collar on Malkin:
"I've seen it in wrestling."
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) October 14, 2016
Will the league look into supplemental discipline for Williams? It’s unlikely. Malkin wasn’t injured on the play, nor is Williams a repeat offender when it comes to playing dirty. The reason the league may be forced to step in and penalize Williams is because they don’t want fellow players to think the type of play is acceptable and worth the cost of a two-minute penalty.
Luckily, Malkin wasn’t hurt and continued playing in the game. He ended up with a goal, an assist and a shootout tally, helping the Penguins win their season opener 3-2 over the Capitals. Karma’s a bitch.
