Maple Leafs forward ejected early in game 1 for dirty hit
The Toronto Maple Leafs are down a forward just seven minutes into their game one against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Kyle Clifford, who is known as an enforcer, went a little too far with his hits. First, he throws a clean one on Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta, but coming back up the ice, he hit forward Ross Colton from behind and face-first into the glass when the puck was already gone.
Emotions can run high in a playoff game, especially in game one of a best-of-seven and early in a game, but Clifford's emotions got the best of him here. He was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit. Fortunately for Clifford, the Lightning were unable to score on the five-minute powerplay.
Watch the hit here:
Here's another angle of Colton's face hitting the glass. He was obviously cut and bleeding afterwards:
NHL players in this story
Ross Colton
Jan Rutta
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