Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Ristolainen Delivers Crushing Hit To Pens F Jake Guentzel.
Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Ristolainen Gave Us Something We All Love Tuesday Night, A Crushing Hit Good Enough for a Game Misconduct!
Remember the days of Scott Stevens? Every time he touched the ice you knew someone was gonna get it. And he didn't care who it was, if you crossed his path or got in his line of site, you were in the cross hairs and on your way to trouble island. However, in today's NHL those big hits are not so common in open ice, they do still happen but not like they did back then.
But Tuesday night Rasmus Ristolainen of the Buffalo Sabres awarded us with a dandy of a hit in open ice on Penguins F Jake Guentzel. After the ensuing scrum Ristolainen was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, and as for Jake, well he didn't return to the game.
Mar 5, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the PPG PAINTS Arena. The Penguins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
He's most likely going to be out with a concussion cause it took him several moments to get up off the ice. Now, these hits can be dangerous and shorten a player's career, but still, there remains a sort of joy we all get when we see one. It's kind of like solar eclipse they are rare, but when they happen they are spectacular.
Besides Ristolainen there are only a few other players in the league that love to do an open ice hit, for instance, Dustin Byfuglien, Kevin Bieksa, and Roman Polak to name a few. But on the topic of open ice hits and the Sabres, another Buffalo defenseman delivered a gem to us earlier in the season when Jake McCabe laid out Patrik Laine in the neutral zone.
And while some may agree and disagree on the enjoyment of open ice hits, we can all agree on one thing and that is it's a part of the game and it happens. If you missed the Buffalo and Pittsburgh game Tuesday night that's okay because we have the video below!
It definitely was a super hit by Ristolainen, let's hope we see a few more before seasons end!
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