The NHL Saw One of the Scariest Hits Ever Last Night; Many Feel It Was Dirty

The 2021 NHL Playoffs have officially reached the second round and with the pandemic-influenced divisions this season, we're getting to see some interesting playoff matchups we haven't really seen before.

One of those matchups is the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets, meeting for the first time ever in a postseason series.

The Canadiens won game one, 5-3, but the bigger story from the game was the huge hit that Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele delivered on Montreal's Jake Evans.

Evans was circling behind the net, looking to score an empty-net goal to put the game away. That's when Scheifele delivered a major hit.

Evans was taken off on a stretcher but early reports on Thursday said he's doing better.

As for Scheifele, he was kicked out of the game with a five-minute major for charging and game misconduct. He will have a hearing to determine if he gets suspended for future games.

Montreal defenseman Joel Edmundson had strong words for Scheifele after the game, saying the NHL would take care of it, but if he gets back in the series, "we're going to make his life miserable."

Fans are arguing on social media whether or not it was dirty, and I definitely think it was uncalled for.

If you watch the replay, Scheifele made zero attempt at playing the puck and stopped skating halfway to Evans, meaning he was more than likely looking to dish out the hit, rather than prevent the goal, which should be discilplined.

Yes, the hit itself was shoulder on chest, but that's pretty pointless when you're talking about coming from that distance and hitting a defenseless player like that. Evans was in the process of scoring and was vulnerable.

Hopefully, Evans is okay and can return for this series but he was clearly knocked out after hitting the ice.