Maple Leafs veteran Chris Tanev potentially facing discipline after hit on Bruins' David Pastrnak

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Tom Banks
November 6, 2024 (3:32 PM)

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Chris Tanev is not known to be a dirty player, but after a hit on David Pastrnak sparked a melee, he may be facing discipline from the league.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins rivalry is one that has plenty of personal history and it's a bitter one, and given that not much is needed to set it off, it's no surprise that a melee once again occurred during a game of theirs. This time, it was Chris Tanev's hit to David Pastrnak that sparked it, with captain Brad Marchand standing up for his teammate and immediately jumping in on the play, resulting in a chaotic start to the game.

Now, there have been suggestions that Tanev could face discipline for his part in the play, as his hit to Pastrnak could have been seen as a dirty one given the way that the Bruins superstar was forced into the boards.

However, the overwhelming majority of fans on social media saw that Pastrnak put himself in an awkward position by turning at the last second, a move that would ultimately see him hit into the boards, and while Marchand was right to react the way he did, it certainly wasn't intentional from Chris Tanev.

From the perspective of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, they'll likely see the turn from Pastrnak and not give out supplemental punishment, but given how unpredictable they've been, this could go either way. Ultimately, it ended up being an awkward play for everyone involved, and while Tanev isn't to blame for the situation, it was a very bad-looking hit, so now we wait and see if the NHL's DoPS gets involved like they have been known to do in recent times.