With the Jets down 3-1 in the 2nd with 2:56 left in the period Bryan Little was caught in a vulnerable spot and Lightning defenceman Anton Stralman took him out.
The Jets centre stayed down on the ice for some time before he was helped off by the trainers. As one could expect coach Maurice was less than pleased about it and left the referees know his feelings. He was assessed a two minute bench misconduct.
Coming out to start the 3rd period the Jets bench boss was still hot and referee Francois St. Laurent chose to stare him down. It escalated and the Jets bench boss got tossed as you can see in this video (as well as the hit on Little).
After the game we found out from the Jets bench boss that Bryan Little required x-rays to his neck from the hit which really comes as no surprise.
Now Jets fans will have to wait and see what happens with their #1 centre. Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press reported that Little was seen after the game in street clothes. The Jets have the day off tomorrow so we may have to wait till Saturday before we get an update on Little’s status.
For what is is worth when Anton Stralman of Tampa was interviewed after the game he told Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Bay Tribune “I don’t play the game to try to hurt anybody. He lost his edge, lost his balance and I was in his way. There is not really much I can do to pull out of that one.” (You can hear his comment below).
Anton Stralman
