Domi sucker punches Ekblad.

[Brosive]

was he supposed to warn him first..."hey just so you know, im going to punch you now...?" good lord if thats the case then every fight that's not a WBC bout will be started by a sucker punch..

I'll admit that I didn't see the lead up to this but...

There's a difference between two guys squaring up to fight and one guy getting hit first with punching someone who wasn't expecting it.

Ekblad was not squaring off to fight. He was looking at the ref with his arms at his side (to avoid getting an offsetting penalty I assume)
This is an obvious sucker punch.

[finnys_fanatsy]

If players square up and both drop the gloves it's a fight. If one player doesn't want to fight and the other drops his glove and punches him in the face it's a sucker punch. That's like...kindergarten level concepts

im not questioning if its a fight or not..its clearly not, never claimed it was.

im just saying that if this is a sucker punch, then im clearly outta touch, and every backyard / school ground fight i've been in was started by what is being called a sucker punch.

Cmon..Ekblad had to know at some point that Domi wasn't leaving and was going to throw a punch at some point..cant tell me hes that naive.

[2014olympicgold]

im not questioning if its a fight or not..its clearly not, never claimed it was.

im just saying that if this is a sucker punch, then im clearly outta touch, and every backyard / school ground fight i've been in was started by what is being called a sucker punch.

Cmon..Ekblad had to know at some point that Domi wasn't leaving and was going to throw a punch at some point..cant tell me hes that naive.

This isn't a schoolyard nor are these children.

Do I have to ask my boss to use the bathroom? No, things freaking change as you grow up. My head hurts.

[rataylor22]

im not questioning if its a fight or not..its clearly not, never claimed it was.

im just saying that if this is a sucker punch, then im clearly outta touch, and every backyard / school ground fight i've been in was started by what is being called a sucker punch.

Cmon..Ekblad had to know at some point that Domi wasn't leaving and was going to throw a punch at some point..cant tell me hes that naive.

So you're out of touch and sucker punch a lot of people. Settled, we can move on.

[finnys_fanatsy]

So you're out of touch and sucker punch a lot of people. Settled, we can move on.

lol..i guess i am and i did by this convo..im a friggin maniac!

[Luffy D Monkey]

There's not much point in debating the finer points of the meaning of the phrase "sucker punch".

But Domi's punch was total bullshit. Most of us are aware that there is a code in hockey, you don't take off your glove and punch somebody in the face bare-fisted unless they have verbally agreed to fight and squared off. We all know what that looks like, and this wasn't that.

Just because Bill Burr cracked some joke doesn't mean it's right in the context of the NHL. What a comedian says has no bearing on the way NHL athletes should conduct themselves on the ice.

[ACC90]

Ekblad looked away because he knew he was about to get his ass kicked.
He pissed off the wrong guy with the stick-work throughout the game and he realized Domi had had enough.

Call it whatever you want, sucker punch, whatever, but Ekblad can't just disengage in that moment. It's too late.
Like I said earlier, if you abuse a honeybadger, he's eventually going to mess you up. Take your medicine.

Come on folks, Domi doesn't just go around punching someone in the face for no reason. He's not a sociopath.

I saw the game and Ekblad cross-check and slashed Domi all night long...
But I never saw one penalty by the ref and Domi tried to do his own justice (and he was wrong to do that)
But nevermind we will be call anyway some kind of bully or Don Cherry's biggest fan by the others

[Godin]

Ekblad looked away because he knew he was about to get his ass kicked.
He pissed off the wrong guy with the stick-work throughout the game and he realized Domi had had enough.

Call it whatever you want, sucker punch, whatever, but Ekblad can't just disengage in that moment. It's too late.
Like I said earlier, if you abuse a honeybadger, he's eventually going to mess you up. Take your medicine.

Come on folks, Domi doesn't just go around punching someone in the face for no reason. He's not a sociopath.

I didn't know Ekblad was hacking him all game long but he should have just hacked him back and the ref would probably have given them both slashing penalties. Geez, if Domi reacts like this everytime this happens, he will be suspended for 60 games a year. Call it immaturity I guess.

[PenguinHunter]

So when someone says a bad word to you, it's OK to punch him in the face? Adults should have some amount of self-control, we're not dealing with kindergartners here.

I never said Domi was in the right. I was just saying I expected something else when I saw ?sucker punch?

[rataylor22]

Good to know these are all also not sucker punches because they were "facing each other" lol.

[ACC90]

I didn't know Ekblad was hacking him all game long but he should have just hacked him back and the ref would probably have given them both slashing penalties. Geez, if Domi reacts like this everytime this happens, he will be suspended for 60 games a year. Call it immaturity I guess.

I think that the suspension will give to Domi a good reminder to act differently next time.
He's lucky that Ekblad isn't injured badly

[fungchen3]

What a stupid play by Domi. I was watching the game and couldn't believe he did such a thing. The entire time it was clear that Ekblad was not willing to engage and drop the mitts - and why should he? It's a preseason game, he has a history of concussions, and he has nothing to gain in the situation. Domi was playing his first game on Montreal ice and got caught up in the moment. I don't care what Ekblad "said", this was a bonehead sucker punch from Domi and he should get the preseason and 3 games of the regular season.

Listening to Montreal radio after the game, of course the team was going to back Max. All the usual nonsense quotes were played, "Max was protecting himself...", blah, blah, blah. Blatant sucker punch. Semi-hefty suspension. Should be easy decision. Unacceptable.

Ekblad is just lucky it wasn't pop Domi punching him or he would have a sure concussion, cracked sinuses and a broken orbital bone. I'm all for fighting in hockey. If it was up to me, I would banish the Instigator Rule immediately. But this wasn't a fight - it was garbage. Code violation.

[hockeymanG23]

The clip I saw ended focusing on Tie Domi in the stands and he did not look impressed by his son in the slightest.

I didn’t see the game but that clip also started with Ekblad giving Domi a shove, not even close to enough to qualify as a cross check before Max gets in his face and became a total shithead. If Ekblad WAS crosschecking and slashing Domi all night he would’ve been penalized once or twice at least but the shove that set Domi off doesn’t even qualify and he handled himself like a compete loser by losing his shit and sucker punching Ekblad.

[fungchen3]

The clip I saw ended focusing on Tie Domi in the stands and he did not look impressed by his son in the slightest.

Yep. Tie had the look of a father who was about to give his son the "long drive home" after the game. I'm sure Tie's message was short and sweet: "Don't ever f-ing do that again. Call the kid tonight and apologize. Then take whatever the league gives you and shut your mouth. You want to impress the fans and your team? Put the puck in the net."

[Jouko-Pouko]

If Domi lost his shite over some slashes and cross-checks, it's going to be a long season for him. Was it his first game in the NHL? That's just what NHL defenders do. All the time. This is from Scheifele's "The Players' Tribune":

When I'm playing against Josi, I'm seeing his yellow jersey in my face every single second - and if I'm in front of the net, then there's a good chance he's cross-checking me in the ribs.

Josi is most definitely not a dirty player but his cross-checks were one of the things Scheifele highlighted about him.

I also remember one video - probably from one of those "Road to Winter Classic" things - where the opposing team was going through their game plan against the Pens. They said something like: "Geno might give us a power play if we give him special attention. Don't bother with Sid, he doesn't get rattled." Opposing teams know which players have a habit of losing their shite, so they take advantage of that. Domi doesn't like to get slashed and cross-checked? Well, if he reacts like that, he's going to get twice as much.