Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans had to be stretchered off the ice in Game 1 after taking a vicious hit from Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele.
Scheifele lined up Evans from across the ice as the Canadiens player buried an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining in the contest.
Mark Scheifele tossed for flattening Jake Evans after he scores on the empty net. pic.twitter.com/kE6nU3vDCD
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) June 3, 2021
The Jets pivot was handed a charging major and game misconduct.
Here's a look from another angle:
Mark Scheifele gets a 5 minute major for charging on Jake Evans. #WeAreWPG #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/PcCwBqHQS2
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) June 3, 2021
Scheifele left his feet, led with his elbow, and appeared to make contact with Evans' head.
Habs defenseman Joel Edmundson took issue with the hit, saying there will be repercussions if Scheifele appears again in the series.
"It was a dirty hit, but the league's going to take care of it," he told reporters postgame, per TSN's John Lu. "If (Scheifele) gets back in the series, we're going to make his life miserable."
Jesperi Kotkaniemi also defended his teammate.
"It's disgusting. Little respect for the players out there," Kotkaniemi said. "Just seeing (Evans) moving (on the stretcher) after a thing like that was huge."
Evans had movement in his arms as he left the ice.
A scary scene in Winnipeg as Jake Evans was stretchered off the ice after taking a hit from Mark Scheifele. pic.twitter.com/XFNlzcdy5I
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 3, 2021
Montreal held on for the 5-3 win.
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