It happened with under two minutes remaining in the first period with the game scoreless. Pacioretty was trying to position himself in the center of the Bruins zone as the Caps set up on offense. As he watched the puck, Grzelcyk caught him off guard and used his stick to spear him right between the legs.
#ALLCAPS Pacioretty goes down. This is being reviewed for a major penalty pic.twitter.com/TnusMMVJiZ
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) February 10, 2024
The officials did not call the spear initially, as they only stopped play when Pacioretty went down to the ice in pain. Pacioretti got to his feet, but was doubled over as he skated off the ice and headed to the locker room for the rest of the period.
After the officials held a discussion about the play, Grzelcyk was sent to the box with a spearing penalty, and then upon further review, he was sent to the locker room with a game misconduct.
We have seen NHL players getting away with spearing opponents in the groin before. In this case, however, justice was served.
As for Pacioretty, he returned to the game for the start of the second period and got a measure of revenge with an assist to T.J. Oshie as the Capitals went on to beat the Bruins 3-0.
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.
