In the third period of Monday night's playoff game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins, Penguin defenseman Chris Kunitz laid a nasty hit on Lightning forward Simon Gagne. Gagne was attempting to reach a loose puck, when Kunitz cut across the ice and elbowed Gagne hard in the back of the head. You can watch the play in the video below; the final replay is the best angle to see the hit:
Gagne has a history of concussions, and spoke out after the game about the hit to reporters. Video from the St. Petersburg Times below the jump:
The NHL playoffs are notorious for their hard hits and physical play, but this is the type of hit the NHL is supposedly trying to remove from the game. Kunitz did receive a penalty for the hit and the Bolts scored on the following power play, but there's no word yet on if the league will take any disciplinary action against Kunitz.