Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Fined For Nasty Cross Check

The Montreal Canadiens played the Dallas Stars last night and two things happened that no one would have expected heading into the game.

First, the 7-25-5 Montreal Canadiens actually won a hockey game and improved that record all the way to 8-25-5. Who could have guessed the 32nd ranked NHL team would have won a game?

Also, an even more bizarre event occurred when Jonathan Drouin snapped and started to show some emotion.

Drouin took a faceoff against Stars centre Tyler Seguin late in the game with the Habs leading 5-2. As soon as the puck dropped, Seguin whacked Drouin in the face with a cross check. To everyone’s surprise, Drouin snapped right back at Seguin with a cross check of his own, then took Seguin to the ice and came down on him with a nasty cross check to the head and gave him another shot to the head.

It has been a long and trying season for this team. Winning eight of 38 games is horrible for players who have to go to work every day knowing the playoffs are impossible after a quarter of the season. This team has been on a death march for months and they still have to play 44 more games of hockey somehow.

Still, I think Jonathan Drouin might have been the last person we would have guessed would have snapped, but he sure did. Seguin started it with a pretty brutal shot to the head first, but Drouin took exception and blasted him back with a viscous cross check.

Drouin was handed a five minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct. The 15 minute in penalties for that one action was almost twice as many as he had in the 30 games before that. Drouin entered the game with eight minutes in penalties before his 15 minute outburst.

Drouin will not be suspended for the incident but did receive a $5,000 fine.