While many seem to be condemning Corey Perry of the Dallas Stars after he was ejected from the Winter Classic for an elbow on Nashville's Ryan Ellis, his coach is defending him all the way. In fact, Rick Bowness said the Stars' 4-2 victory over the Predators in the game was for Perry, saying his teammates did it for him.
"Corey Perry would never try to hurt anyone. He would play hard," Bowness said following the game. "I feel terrible for Corey Perry to be thrown out of that game early like that because when you see that in your calendar in the summer, you're looking forward to that. You really are."
"But our guys won the game for Corey," Bowness added. "They battled back."
Perry's elbow, which happened less than three minutes into the game, has resulted in a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety. You can check out the play here:
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Ellis left the game with an "upper-body injury" and did not return. Teammate Roman Josi called it a terrible play.
"That's the kind of hit you're trying to get out of the game. [Ellis] is shooting the puck, and he gets him right in the head. I thought was a really, really bad hit."
Source: Sportsnet.ca
