bustaheims
Active member
A few things worked in Reaves' favour here (other than who he hit):
1. As others have pointed out, Wilson's head is not the principle point of contact.
2. Most of the momentum for the hit was generated by Wilson - Reaves is basically skating in a straight line, and Wilson comes in from the side.
3. Reaves looks to be chasing the puck, rather than looking for the hit. Obviously, he took advantage of the opportunity, but, if his intent was to hit Wilson here, he masks that intent well enough to create doubt.
There was definitely some back and forth over the course of the night, which wouldn't have worked in Reaves' favour, but, all things considered (especially considering the league's quite recent history of not punishing Wilson for a more dangerous hit), not suspending him was the right call.
1. As others have pointed out, Wilson's head is not the principle point of contact.
2. Most of the momentum for the hit was generated by Wilson - Reaves is basically skating in a straight line, and Wilson comes in from the side.
3. Reaves looks to be chasing the puck, rather than looking for the hit. Obviously, he took advantage of the opportunity, but, if his intent was to hit Wilson here, he masks that intent well enough to create doubt.
There was definitely some back and forth over the course of the night, which wouldn't have worked in Reaves' favour, but, all things considered (especially considering the league's quite recent history of not punishing Wilson for a more dangerous hit), not suspending him was the right call.