Boston Bruins left winger Max Jones was sent to the penalty box after accidentally slashing a referee during Tuesday night's NHL season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
It happened with just under four minutes remaining in the second period as the Panthers held a 5-2 lead. During a play stoppage, Jones got into a minor scrum with Panthers center Evan Rodrigues in front of the Bruins net. Jones punched and shoved Rodrigues, who just laughed while leaving his stick on Jones' shoulder. Rodrigues moved his stick out of the way just as Jones was ready to knock it off his shoulder with his own stick. Meanwhile, linesman Devin Berg skated over to separate them.
As a result, Jones tried to whack the stick of Rodrigues, but instead slashed Berg in the arm, causing him to keel over in obvious pain.
Unsportsmanlike conduct on Max Jones after he accidentally slashed the referee#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/wRzAvYUxQa
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) October 9, 2024
We have seen referees accidentally hit with the puck from time to time, but we don't see players slashing referees very often.
This clearly was unintentional as Jones was not aware that Berg was about to step in between him and Rodrigues. However, referee TJ Luxmore had to give Jones a minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to discourage other players from this type of behavior. Jones would also be called for a roughing penalty in the third period.
The Bruins tried to rally late, but fell short as the Panthers came away with the 6-4 victory.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
