Chaos ensues after Lightning winger intentionally injures Predators defenseman

The Predators/Lightning game last night had a bit of an unruly conclusion, after Lightning winger Austin Watson took it upon himself to intentionally injure a Preds defenseman at the end of a runaway game.

Watson, frustrated with his team down 5-1 as the clock ran down, wound up and shot a puck directly into the legs of Preds defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, who went down in a heap, clearly labouring in pain at center ice. Lauzon would then head down the tunnel with a noticeable limp as chaos ensued on the ice


What was Watson's intention on the play if not to injure Lauzon? If his argument is that he wound up to fire a puck towards the Preds' net at the end of the game, even if the puck had somehow gone in, the end result is still 5-2 Preds.


Tthe NHL's Department of Player Safety has since announced that they have fined Watson a little over $2000 as a result of the play. In my mind, it wasn't nearly enough. That was not a hockey play. That was a cowardly attempt to take a pound of flesh following a blowout loss and plays like that have no place in the game.