Sharks’ Kane chops Matheson in the face with brutal high stick

In case you missed it, the Florida Panthers rolled past the San Jose Sharks 6-2 last night thanks in large part to some reckless play from Sharks forward Evander Kane.

Kane was a bit feisty last night and ended up being assessed three penalties at a crucial point in a tie game in the third period, which led to the Panthers absolutely blowing things wide open. We’ll let The Mercury Times Paul Gackle break it down:

With the game tied 2-2 in the third, Kane tried to slip around Nick Bjugstad in the neutral zone, but his stick caught the Panthers forward in the face as he tried to swing it past his head. Bjugstad wiped blood from his nose, drawing a double-minor penalty that produced a pair of power play goals just nine seconds apart against the Sharks seventh-ranked penalty kill.

Even worse than that though was this chop to the face of Panthers defensemen Mike Matheson, who himself is Public Enemy #1 thanks to his antics against the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens last week:

Ouch, that’s ugly. Admittedly, it doesn’t look intentional on Kane’s part, but he absolutely HAS to have control of his stick in that play. There’s no reason for his stick to be up that high… it’s simply a reckless play. Worth of supplemental discipline? Who knows with the way that NHL Player Safety sees things these days. It’s worth noting that Kane has received supplemental discipline in the past, earning a one game suspension for cross checking Vegas Golden Knights forward Pierre-Marc Bellemare in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.