With the injuries piling up for Florida Panthers, the last thing they need is one of their young scorers banged up. Early into their Monday night game in New Jersey, Denis Malgin was taken into the boards by Pavel Zacha on a play that earned the Devils’ forward a five-minute major penalty.
Florida Panthers lose Denis Malgin to ‘upper body injury’ after boarding incident
Pavel Zacha was given a five-minute major for boarding Malgin in the first period.
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You can watch full video of the incident down below.
On such a fast-moving play, Malgin seemed to lose a bit of his edge as Zacha pushed him around in a play for the puck. Malgin’s head slammed into the top of the boards and a brawl ensued as the Panthers jumped to defend their teammate. The hit by Zacha isn’t malicious, but it’s a dangerous play to ride an opponent so close to the boards.
Zacha has no suspension history in his young NHL career, so it’s unclear whether the Department of Player Safety will add more punishment than the major penalty. Malgin, however, only played 2:03 in the first period and the Panthers announced he will not return to the game with an upper body injury.
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