WATCH : Michael Bunting receives match penalty following MONSTROUS hit on Bolts’ Erik Cernak, NHL Twitter reacts

Michael Bunting will likely be hearing from the league after his illegal check on Erik Cernak during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

WATCH : Michael Bunting receives match penalty following MONSTROUS hit on Bolts’ Erik Cernak, NHL Twitter reacts

Michael Bunting hit on Erik Cernak [Image Credit: The Toronto Star/Coast Reporter]

Toronto Maple Leafs’ winger Michael Bunting receives a match penalty for roughing up Tampa Bay Lightning’s defenceman Erik Cernak during Game 1. Lightning has been quite out of luck considering three of their players walked down to the locker room following injuries.

On Tuesday night, Leafs forward sent Bolts’ defenceman flying on the ice with an elbow shot. The hit was considered illegal and social media didn’t waste any time thrashing Bunting for his actions. Bunting has been heavily criticized for his blow which left Cernak still on ice for a few seconds.

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The incident took place during the second period with 4.20 minutes left. Bunting was assessed a five-minute major match penalty following the scrum. While Michael Bunting was called out by NHL, Bolts Corey Perry led the team with a 5-2 match score. The Lightning won with a dashing 7-3 record against Leafs in game one.

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Related: WATCH : Oilers spectacular fall to Kings in Game 1 stuns fans on social media, NHL Twitter reacts

Michael Bunting called out by NHL officials after hit on Erik Cernak

Michael Bunting [Image Credit: Sportsnet]
Michael Bunting [Image Credit: Sportsnet]

Apart from Erik Cernak, Lightning also lost their star defenceman Victor Hedman and forward Michael Eyssimont. Hedman left the game with an undisclosed injury and didn’t come back for the second half of the game. The Lightning was down to 10 players on the bench following the concerned incidents. 

It’s only Game 1 of the Stanley Cup season, but it seems fans are already pissed with Leafs’ performance. The Leafs surely drew a nightmarish picture for their fans who were just as horrified with the ultimate 7-3 blow by the Bolts. 

Although Nikita Kucherov delivered a power-play, he failed to subdue the boos that went down in the arena. On the other hand, Ilya Samsonov’s feeding goals to Bolts did little to improve their team situation. 

One of the same situations was enjoyed by Oilers as the fans literally littered the ice with trash after their embarrassing loss against the Kings. Leafs’ captain John Tavares commented, “We just didn’t execute well”, according to TheStar.

https://twitter.com/HR43281661/status/1648519846827794432

“We did a good job of battling back, but we took too many penalties and that took us out of the game. We’re disappointed with how the game went. We’ve got to be a lot better. We’ve got to regroup, learn from it and have a short memory and come out (in Game 2) with response.”

Samsonov admitted that it was a tough loss to digest early in the playoff season, “That was tough for us, not what we want to see”. “This was just one game. The series is not over. We didn’t think this would be an easy series.”

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