Rasmus Andersson tries to take Patrik Laine's head off.
The Calgary Flames defenseman goes after Patrik Laine with a dirty hit in the final seconds of the game.
The National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety may be getting to work early on Saturday morning courtesy of Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
On Friday night, Andersson seemingly made an attempt at removing the head of Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Patrik Laine in what were the final seconds of the game. Laine was attempting to pad his stats late in the third period by firing a puck off down the ice on an empty Calgary Flames net, but Andersson was having absolutely none of it.
As Laine crossed the blue line to take his shot down the ice, Andersson came in and leveled him with a huge hit that almost unquestionably was targeting the head of his opponent. Not only did Andersson catch Laine in the head, but he appeared to deliberately launch himself at that target in the process of a huge hit on the Finnish forward.
In spite of the fact that the final horn was blown, the officials on the ice awarded Andersson with a 5 minute major for his infraction. Given the timing and the nature of this hit however, don't be surprised if more discipline is coming Andersson's ways on Saturday.
