Why Max Crozier's series-changing hit for Lightning was completely legal

MONTREAL - Max Crozier's open-ice hit on Juraj Slafkovsky shifted momentum in Sunday's Game 4, setting the tone for the Lightning's comeback from two goals down and a 3-2 win that evened their best-of-seven first-round series against Montreal.

Inside the Bell Centre, the home crowd wanted a penalty on Crozier, but his hit, while unquestionably violent, was a legal check.

If there was anyone to blame, it was Slafkovsky, who had his head down while handling the puck at center ice. He had no idea that Crozier was coming and because of that couldn't do anything to protect himself, which made the hit look even more jarring. But it's on the players to be aware of being hit, especially when they have possession of the puck.

"It was just a clean, solid check," Crozier said. "I was able to time it up right. ... Head down, going through the middle. That was pretty easy to line it up."

Montreal defenseman Alexandre Carrier's touch pass to Slafkovsky is termed a "suicide pass" in hockey vernacular. That's when the delivery is behind a player, forcing him to look back instead of at the ice ahead of him and putting himself at extra risk of taking a hard hit, like the one Crozier put on Slafkovsky.

As for Crozier's hit itself, his main point of contact with Slafkovsky's body was the chest area. While it could be argued that his shoulder ran into the head area, it was not an intentional head shot, which would have been illegal. Also, it's not until Crozier makes contact with Slafkovsky that his feet leave the ground, which is more basic physics than anything nefarious.

Given the heavy-handed way the game was being called, it would not have been surprising to see the hit flagged as an infraction. From very early on in Game 4, when Lightning center Yanni Gourde was called for a cross check on a hit that was little more than an aggressive forecheck, the officials set the tone that they weren't going to keep their whistles in their pockets. And that theme carried out for both teams throughout the game.

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