The main storyline from the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final is that the Florida Panthers are up 2-0 in the series. The secondary storyline after Monday night's game is whether Leon Draisaitl deserves supplementary discipline after delivering a check to the head of Aleksander Barkov during the third period of Game 2. Draisaitl was assessed a two-minute minor for roughing, while Barkov left the game and didn't return.
The Panthers captain wasn't held out as a precaution, according to head coach Paul Maurice , and his status for Game 3 and the rest of the series is up in the air. So, should Draisaitl be suspended for Game 3? Our NHL staff weighed in here. This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.
For those unaware, I'm an Edmonton Oilers fan. It's been that way since I was nine. To the point where I have a son named Ryan (for Ryan Smyth) and a dog named Stanley (for, well.
..you know).
I had to keep myself from hyperventilating after Game 2 when I shared an elevator with Mark Messier, whose jersey has hung in my closet since the Reagan administration. The last thing in the world I want to see is Draisaitl suspended for Game 3 or Game 4, or anything else that's going to make an already difficult job even more so. But that doesn't mean I didn't see what unfolded on Monday night, which was Draisaitl, obviously frustrated after five-plus periods of competitive invisibility, taking a bald-faced run at Barkov along the offensive zone boards.
The fan in me understands th.
