In a couple of hours, Canadien forward Max Pacioretty will have a hearing to discuss this hit on Ranger defenseman Ryan McDonagh. It was a retaliatory boarding penalty for an earlier hit McDonagh delivered.

McDonagh let up on his check with Pacioretty facing the Montreal bench. Here, Pacioretty doesn’t, carrying momentum into McDonagh, who didn’t return last night. He could have a concussion. Hopefully for the bruised and battered Blueshirts, that’s not the case.

The question is was Pacioretty’s hit enough to warrant a suspension. Before he plays the puck, McDonagh sees Pacioretty coming. He put himself in a prone position. However, it’s a dangerous hit that crushed McDonagh, who was cut. Patches doesn’t let up and nails McD in the back. Making matters worse, Ryan’s head was exposed.

I’m not sure if Brendan Shanahan will suspend Pacioretty. McDonagh turned into it. Even though the commentary from the Hockey Night In Canada feed is obligatory. Whoever the color commentator is was out to lunch. You can’t compare the two hits. One player shows restraint while the other didn’t. As he was headed to the box, Pacioretty was seen visibly smirking. Even more pathetic, he wasn’t made available to the media. I wonder why.