Max Domi sparks controversy with late hit on Aleksander Barkov.

You just knew that there would come a point in the second round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers would turn ugly, and that point may very well have been Game 4 of the series.

On Sunday night, things took an ugly turn at the end of Game 4 when Maple Leafs forward Max Domi delivered a hit on Aleksander Barkov late in the third period. The hit was questionable at best, catching Barkov from behind while he was dangerously close to the boards, and appeared to be designed to send a message to the Panthers.

While the Panthers have a reputation for being nasty on the ice, especially when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Barkov is generally not considered that type of player and I don't think it was any coincidence that Domi chose him as his target. I believe Domi was making it clear that the Maple Leafs were willing to get down and dirty if they had to, or at least I believe that was the message he was attempting to send.

Here is a look at the replay of the hit:

Here it is again in slow motion:

There may be good reason Domi was looking to send a message of this nature as well, with Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner on the receiving end of an elbow to the head earlier in the game courtesy of Panthers defenseman Dmitri Kulikov. It may very well be that Domi chose to target Barkov because of this incident earlier in the game.