Montreal Canadiens star Juraj Slafkovsky calls out NHL Player Safety for controversial ruling

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TJ Tucker
November 5, 2024 (7:49)

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The Montreal Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky has broken his silence on a hit from Noel Acciari of the Pittsburgh Penguins, explaining that he was knocked out in the process.

After being the subject of a lot of debate online over the weekend, Slafkovsky has now given his thoughts on the controversial hit delivered by Acciari, and he is not happy with how things went down.

The hit in question came late in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. There was no call on the play, and Slafkovsky was forced to leave the game with around three minutes left, in another devastating blow to the Montreal lineup:

The collision sparked arguments across hockey's social media communities and was called out by two former NHLers as a dirty hit. The The NHL's Department of Player Safety decided that no punishment was required for Acciari, a decision that didn't sit well with Slafkovsky:

«Obviously, I put myself in that spot, but you expect to get reverse hit. They teach me to reverse hit with my back and my ass, not with my arm. So I was maybe expecting a different type of contact from him...I got KO'd and had to go take a shower."

I don't know, I have my opinion, but I probably can't say because it's bad.

While it's very mature for the youthful Slafkovsky to keep his opinion to himself, it's not hard to imagine the string of expletives and anger-filled comments that the Montreal forward surely spouted during his removal from the game. Montreal has been ravaged by injuries this season, and the potential for another, especially to such a bright young star, would be catastrophic for the Canadiens.

Slafkovsky added that he wanted to be out there for the final minutes of the game, but was forced into concussion protocol; something that drew the ire of the forward:

"It's a good thing that my head is fine...I was pissed because, like, three minutes until the end of the game, and I wanted to be out there."

Juraj Slafkovsky has reason to be a bit irked. A few angles of the hit show him taking it right in the chin. For now, he has until Dec. 12, when the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins play again, to decide if he wants to do something about it.

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10 HOURS AGO \| 49 ANSWERS Montreal Canadiens star Juraj Slafkovsky calls out NHL Player Safety for controversial ruling What are your thoughts in Juraj Slafkovsky's take on the hit from Noel Acciari?
▢ He's right
▢ He's wrong
▢ I'm not sure