Peter Holland was pretty salty after a big hit along the boards from Robbie Russo. Though several Maple Leafs skated over to Russo to air their grievances, the helmetless Holland rushed in and tried to pummel Russo even though the refs quickly intervened.
Holland throwing shots at Russo’s back/side while Russo is pinned under an official is an odd sight.
You can see the moment where Holland has no idea what he’s doing.
“Should I punch him in the butt? This didn’t go according to plan.”
Jokes aside, a player should be disciplined if they’re throwing punches after one player is down on the ice and pinned under an official. There’s really no room for that in hockey. If two players want to fight – go for it – but do it cleanly.
This is a goonish play by a player who was hit while his head was down trying to scoop up the puck. The original hit straddles the line between clean and illegal, but Holland shouldn’t have reacted as he did.
